Hands up, those who knew Iceland goes to the polls on Saturday, October 29. Both hands up please if you knew that there’s a good chance it will elect the Pirate Party, whose leader Birgitta Jónsdóttir sees herself as Iceland’s Bernie Sanders and the sort of political free-thinker who would be happy to grant citizenship to Edward Snowden. That’s what emerges from the Washington Post’s excellent interview with Ms Jonsdottir , in which she’s described as “a poet, a Web developer and a former WikiLeaks activist.” Why does the Icelandic election matter? Does it matter? Some may remember the many bad jokes about its problems. The 2008 crisis that caused its banks to fail gave rise to quips like this one Q: What is the capital of Iceland? A: About £2.50 at the moment, and falling. The subsequent eruption of a volcano with an unpronounceable name, which scattered ash over Europe, prompted this: Iceland, we wanted your cash, not your ash. But seemingly undete...