Election Throws Sweden Into Turmoil as Nationalists Advance
By Johan Carlstrom and Niklas Magnusson Sep 15, 2014 8:19 AM ET
Sweden’s election threw the nation’s political establishment into turmoil as backing for the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats more than doubled, leaving the largest Nordic economy facing a hung parliament.
The three-party Social Democratic opposition led byStefan Loefvenwon 43.7 percent, versus 39.3 percent for the four-party government of Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, with all the votes counted. The Sweden Democrats garnered 12.9 percent to become the third largest party.
The result, which sent the krona lower, marks an end to eight years of rule by Reinfeldt’s conservative-led coalition, which delivered successive rounds of tax cuts without adding to Sweden’s debt. The premier said he will hand in his resignation today as the responsibility of forming a new government falls to the Social Democrats, which won the most votes.
“There’s a completely new political map in Sweden and that requires that all take responsibility,” Loefven said at a press conference in Stockholm. He vowed to keep the Sweden Democrats from influence and said he would be open to talking to all “democratic” parties on forming a government.
Traders and investors have been bracing themselves for market turbulence amid signs the election would fail to produce a clear winner.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-14/social-democratic-bloc-emerges-as-largest-in-swedish-election.html
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