A joke party or a frivolous party is a political party which has been created for the purposes of entertainment or political satire. A political party is a Political organization that seeks to attain and maintain political power within Government, usually by participating in electoral See also Entertainment (disambiguation and The Entertainer (disambiguation Entertainment is an activity designed to give people Political satire is a significant part of Satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politicsusing political cartoons politicians and public affairs Such a party may or may not have a serious point behind its activities. Examples of joke parties include the Official Monster Raving Loony Party in the United Kingdom, the McGillicuddy Serious Party in New Zealand, the Rhinoceros Party and its successor the Neorhino.ca party in Canada, the Donald Duck Party in Sweden, the Beer Lovers' Party in several eastern European countries and the NEE Party in Belgium. The Official Monster Raving Loony Party (OMRLP is a registered Political party established in the United Kingdom in 1983 by musician and politician David The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The McGillicuddy Serious Party (McGSP operated as a satirical Political party in New Zealand politics during the late 20th century New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island Policies and politics neorhinoca is a Canadian federal Joke political party. Created in Montreal on May 21, 2006 and recognized by Elections Canada Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The Donald Duck Party ( Kalle Anka-partiet) is a Swedish joke political party that gets votes without really existing "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. NEE ( Dutch for no) is a political protest group trying to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those
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Policies and objectives
Typically, joke parties promote policies which they know to be absurd. For example, the Monster Raving Loony Party proposes that the white cliffs of Dover should be painted blue for camouflage purposes, and that the number 13 should be abolished due to "its longstanding unpopularity". The white cliffs of Dover are Cliffs which form part of the British coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The McGillicuddy Serious Party sometimes invited readers of its manifesto to write in their own policy ideas, on the basis that the party, being politicians, wouldn't carry them out anyway. The McGillicuddy Serious Party (McGSP operated as a satirical Political party in New Zealand politics during the late 20th century
The objectives of joke parties, however, can be somewhat more complex than their policies would indicate. Many parties, such as the Monster Raving Loonies and the McGillicuddies, were formed primarily for entertainment purposes, with people participating simply because they find it fun. Other parties, however, have more serious goals, perhaps aiming to counteract a "depressing" or "angry" mood in politics. The Swedish Ezenhemmer Plastic Bags and Child Rearing Utensils Party describes itself in this light, saying that if people were "a little bit more cheerful and playful instead of engaging ourselves in disputes with our opponents", the world would be a better place. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Other parties may use humour (particularly satire) to criticise and attack the political establishment — during the later days of the McGillicuddy Serious Party, for example, a number of anarchists joined the party, using it to criticise the political system. Anarchism is a Political philosophy encompassing theories and attitudes which support the elimination of all compulsory Government, i Varying opinions as to the purpose of a joke party can sometimes lead to internal conflicts, as it did in the McGillicuddy Serious Party. The Monster Raving Loony Party has split on at least two occasions due to internal disputes.
Support
The most obvious reason for a person to support a joke party is simply that they enjoy the humour. There are, however, other arguments advanced in favour of joke parties. Some supporters, for example, say that joke parties perform an important public service, ensuring that people do not take politicians too seriously. Joke parties also receive votes from people who are disillusioned by the political process, or who feel that none of the "serious" parties are worth voting for. This is sometimes directly encouraged — in New Zealand, McGillicuddy Serious sometimes advertised itself as an entertaining way to waste one's vote. Some voters feel that voting for a joke party is a useful form of protest vote. A Protest vote is a Vote cast in an Election to demonstrate the caster's unhappiness with the choice of candidates or refusal of the current political system Tomma Talande Stolar (Empty Vocal Seats) in Sweden was formed to the stated objective of getting a seat in the parliament and leaving it empty.
For the most part, joke parties do not win seats, although there have been a number of notable exceptions. The defunct Polish Beer-Lovers' Party was probably the most successful joke party, having won sixteen seats in the Sejm (3. The Polish Beer-Lovers' Party ( PPPP; Polish: Polska Partia Przyjaciół Piwa) was founded in 1990, one of its leaders being the satirist 5% of the total) in the 1991 elections. Other parties, such as the Monster Raving Loony Party, have won seats on local councils. Even if a joke party does not win, however, it may still poll better than other unsuccessful "serious" parties, typically causing considerable embarrassment.
Controversy
Joke parties sometimes attract considerable criticism from other parties. Opponents complain that frivolous parties make a mockery of an important public process, and undermine the prestige of the democratic system. Proponents point out (implicitly by their very existence) that the electoral system is already a joke, and that any damage to the "democratic system" has already been inflicted by the so called "serious" elements within other parties. Others argue that satire is a high form of political discussion, as seen by Stephen Colbert. Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( born May 13 1964 is an American Comedian, satirist, Actor and Writer, known for his ironic style In countries where political parties receive electoral funding from the state, joke parties are also accused of wasting tax-payers' money. Conversely, proponents of joke parties believe they waste no more money than any other party which receives funding.
See also
This is a list of political parties that have been created for various frivolous purposes parody joke hoax etc Animals as electoral candidates have been found in a number of countries The Jedi census phenomenon is a Grassroots movement that was created in 2001 for citizens in a number of English-speaking countries to record their ReligionDapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic