List of frivolous political parties

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A frivolous party or a joke party is a political party which has been created for the purposes of entertainment or political satire. Such a party may or may not have a serious point behind its activities. This is a list of frivolous political parties.

Some more serious political parties, such as the Rent Is Too Damn High Party, may use the same tactics and humorous approaches to politics as their more frivolous counterparts but aim to address legitimate sociopolitical issues, something that some frivolous parties do not do. By contrast, fake political parties try to resemble serious and genuine political parties for nefarious purposes, such as voter suppression, embezzlement of state funding, division and dilution of voter interest groups, et al. Some fake parties may actually model themselves after frivolous parties in an analogous fashion.

Australia

Austria

Austria-Hungary, Czechoslovakia

Belarus

Canada

Czech Republic

  • Friends of Beer Party (1990–1998)
  • Helax – Ostrava is having fun [cs] (Helax – Ostrava se baví, defunct, 2002–2009)
  • Yes, A Better Czech Republic with Aliens and Motorist Citizens [cs][5][note 2] (Ano lepší Česko s mimozemšťany a občany motoristy, 2024–present)
  • Yes, We Will Troll the Euro-Parliament [cs][6] (ANO, vytrollíme europarlament, 2019 European Parliament election)
  • Balbin's Poetic Party [cs][7] (Balbínova poetická strana, 2002–present)
  • Independent Erotic Initiative [cs] (Nezávislá erotická iniciativa, defunct, 1990-2025)

Denmark

Estonia

Faroe Islands

France

  • Mouvement ondulatoire unifié [fr] (1965)

Germany

  • APPD (Anarchist Pogo Party of Germany)
  • Die PARTEI ('The Party'; Party for Labour, Rule of Law, Protection of Animals, Promotion of Elites and Grassroot-Democratic Initiative) (represented in the European Parliament)

Greece

  • Greek Ecologists (Έλληνες Οικολόγοι, 1986–2023, defunct)
  • Smoking Groups for Art and Visual Composition [el] (Κ.Ο.Τ.Ε.Σ., Καπνιστικές Ομάδες για την Τέχνη και την Εικαστική Συγκρότηση)
  • Cynic Party of Greece-Diogenes[9][10] (Κυνικό Κόμμα Ελλάδος-Διογένης, 2019–2023, defunct)

Hungary

Iceland

Iran

Italy

Japan

Kosovo

Lithuania

New Zealand

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovenia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Taiwan

  • Can't Stop This Party (defunct)
  • Taiwan Mahjong Greatest Party[30][31]

Ukraine

United Kingdom

United States

Uruguay

See also

Notes

  1. [1]
    Mostly a legitimate protest movement, the None of the Above Direct Democracy Party uses humor and satire as part of their platform and has fielded at least one perennial joke candidate, Above Znoneofthe.
  2. [2]
    The full party name is "YES, A BETTER CZECH REPUBLIC WITH ALIENS AND MOTORIST CITIZENS - (more affordable housing, free fares for schoolchildren and students, road repairs, rural development from subsidies, medical and dental emergencies in districts, enough kindergartens, enough free parking for Central Bohemians on the outskirts of Prague)". The aliens being referred to are not aliens in the legal sense, but rather actual extraterrestrials.
  3. [3]
    On multiple occasions, the Happiness Realization party has fielded the perennial joke candidate Yoshiro Nakamatsu. The party platform includes sensationalist and extremist views.
  4. [4]
    Founded by Takashi Tachibana in 2013, initially as The Party to Protect the People from the NHK (NHK kara Kokumin o Mamoru Tō, NHKから国民を守る党), to oppose the license fees for the national broadcasting organization NHK stipulated by the 1950 Broadcasting Law [ja]. The party has changed its name repeatedly since then. Its candidates and officeholders possess a record of extensive controversy, and the party has used humor and satire enough to be labeled a frivolous party by its detractors. For example, Tachibana has claimed that NHK license fee collectors have yakuza connections, and Yoshikazu Higashitani, who was elected into the House of Councillors as part of the NHK Party in 2022, refused to enter Japan serve in his duty due to concerns of being a wanted fugitive. In 2023, two former members formed a new party with the previous name, which focuses on the core issue of scrambling NHK and ending TV license fees.
  5. [5]
    Most pirate parties do not qualify as frivolous parties. However, due to strict laws regarding media piracy in Japan, Japanese pirate party initiatives have resorted to satire, entertainment, and pop culture references rather than direct advocacy for law reform.
  6. [6]
    Founded by Yuya Watase [ja] in 2010, the Tokyo Tea Party initially began as an anti-tax movement, then gradually retooled itself as a satirical parody of the American Tea Party movement following the 2009 nationwide income tax protests. The party lost its momentum after 2012, ceased operations after 2013, and may have existed in some form until the end of 2019.
  7. [7]
    Party of perennial joke candidate Teruki Gotō; other parties claimed by him have included "Teruki Goto and the Party that Changes the World", "A Sugar That Makes Shinshu Nagano Prefecture Chino City Healthy", "Opposition to Charging for Household Waste Party", et al.
  8. [8]
    Party of perennial joke candidate Koichi Toyama. The candidate originally ran as an independent, beginning in 2007, establishing his unofficial party the same year. The party platform consists of an internally incongruous combination of extreme left, anarchist, nationalist, and fascist views.
  9. [9]
    In equal part a legitimate protest movement and a frivolous party lacking any membership; between 1991 and 2006, Russian election ballots included a box titled "Against Everyone", which was removed in 2006 and the associated frivolous party (ru) was liquidated in 2020. The party continues to exist anonymously. Adherents are instructed to vote for everyone, filling in all boxes on election ballots "to avoid inflaming inter-party differences", i.e. defacing the ballots.
  10. [10]
    While not strictly an extant party, the Party of Crooks and Thieves has had a satirical official logo, banners, and advertisements designed, and has been lampooned at protests as though it were a real party.
  11. [11]
    Despite the serious history of anarchism, in recent years the Ukrainian Anarchist Union has organized fake and comedic protests where they promote the caricature version of anarcho-capitalism, accuse all government officials of corruption for reasons including that they accept salaries, demand the abolition of government and police, and simultaneously criticize the government for underfunding social programs.
  12. [12]
    Merged into Official Monster Raving Loony Party in 2007; reclassified itself as a protest group in 2008.
  13. [13]
    Party of perennial fringe candidate Rainbow George Weiss who claimed to have been psychically inspired to enter politics by an extraterrestrial named Sterling Silver. Originally founded as Rainbow Alliance, thereafter known as Rainbow Dream Ticket or Vote for Yourself Dream Ticket. Reached peak popularity during the 1997 UK general election, was renamed Make Politicians History in 2005, and was disbanded in 2009.
  14. [14]
    Party of perennial joke candidate Lord Buckethead, played by Jonathan David Harvey. Also associated with the Official Monster Raving Loony Party. The character of Lord Buckethead was retired after 2019 due to a copyright dispute.
  15. [15]
    Party of perennial joke candidate Count Binface, played by Jonathan David Harvey.
  16. [16]
    Represented by candidate Pamela Stephenson during its only electoral bid in 1987. The Blancmange Throwers Party existed until at least 1989; in the 1987 election, it was registered as the I Want to Drop a Blancmange Down Terry Wogan's Y-Fronts Party.
  17. [17]
    Known by multiple other variations on its name; originally known as the Psychedelic Future Party.
  18. [18]
    Fictional party featuring Marvel Comics character Howard the Duck as candidate.

References

Further reading

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