Sweden's Left Victorious in Elections --- Social Democrat Leader Stefan Lofven Defeats Incumbent Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt --- STOCKHOLM—Sweden's Social Democrat Leader Stefan Lofven defeated incumbent Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt in parliamentary elections on Sunday, signaling the return of a left-leaning government after eight years in opposition. -- The shift reflected concerns among the Swedish electorate that Mr. Reinfeldt's pro-market policies have chipped away at the country's cherished welfare state. Mr. Reinfeldt said he would resign as prime minister on Monday and as leader of his party by spring. -- Mr. Lofven, though, still faces tough negotiations with left-leaning allies over forming a coalition government after failing to secure an absolute majority. --- With nearly all votes counted, results from Sweden's election authority showed the Social Democrats won 31.1% of the vote, largely unchanged from the last election in 2010, while Mr. Reinfeldt's Moderate Party slumped to 23.2%, from 30.1% at the last election. Though the two parties won nearly the same amount of votes four years ago, Mr. Reinfeldt's Moderates were then able to cobble together a larger center-right alliance of parties. -- Mr. Reinfeldt's defeat now is a blow for two of his fellow conservative leaders within the European Union, U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Mr. Reinfeldt was often a reliable ally on the EU stage in advocating for more market-friendly policies and efforts to improve the bloc's competitiveness. -- The change of government in Sweden also will end the mandate of two well-known lawmakers in the European political arena: Finance Minister Anders Borg and Foreign Minister Carl Bildt. Mr. Borg has been a high-profile advocate of fiscal prudence in Europe during the financial crisis, while Mr. Bildt has been a vocal critic of Russia over its actions in Ukraine. --- The strong showing of the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats—whose share of votes climbed to 13% from 5.7% in the 2010 election—surprised pollsters. Their opposition strength in parliament also could force Mr. Lofven to recruit a center-right party to his coalition to ensure he can drive through policies. -- Although the Social Democrats and their allies are bigger jointly than the center-right parties, they will in practice have a majority against them in Parliament, said Jonas Hinnfors, a political scientist at Gothenburg University. -- Read More, WSJ, http://online.wsj.com/articles/swedes-go-to-the-polls-1410695627