Swedish Christian Democrats, eyeing far-right, urge tougher migrant policy

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - The leader of Sweden's opposition Christian Democrats called on Thursday for tighter immigration rules, in an attempt to win back voters from a far-right party that is surging in opinion polls ahead of a March election.

Generous immigration policies have been the bedrock of SWEDISH (SWMA.ES)politics for decades but the comments by Goran Hagglund may be a first sign that the mainstream consensus is cracking under pressure from the far-right Sweden Democrats.

The far-right is on the rise across much of Europe as anti-immigration parties capitalise on economic austerity and disenchantment with the European Union.

"Those granted asylum in Sweden should as a rule be given a permit valid for three years instead of, as now, get permanent residency," Hagglund wrote in the daily Dagens Nyheter.

After three years they would only gain permanent residency if they had managed to find a job or if the original reason for being granted asylum remained, he said.

To make up for lower welfare payments, tax breaks would be offered as an incentive to work, said Hagglund, whose party is one of four in the centre-right Alliance opposition.

Sweden currently grants permanent residency to almost all asylum seekers whose claim is accepted.

"This (debate) risks playing into the hands of the Sweden Democrats," Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, a Social Democrat, told national news agency TT.

The Sweden Democrats have threatened to bring down any government that does not curb rising asylum seeker numbers. Lofven called the March election after the Sweden Democrats blocked his centre-left government's budget.

The leaders of the Alliance, which polls show is losing ground to Lofven's slightly larger centre-left bloc, signalled they did not reject a tighter policy.

Anna Kinberg Batra of the Moderates said asylum rights should be protected but her party -- the biggest in the Alliance -- was also looking at how to strengthen integration and labour policies. The Liberal Party's Jan Bjorklund said he "did not exclude" Hagglund's proposals.

"The Sweden Democrats are rubbing their hands in delight over this," said Ulf Bjereld, political scientist at Gothenburg University.

Acting Sweden Democrat leader Mattias Karlsson welcomed the proposals, saying they could "definitely influence our future actions regarding prime minister votes and budget votes".

The Sweden Democrats, who want to cut asylum seeker numbers by 90 percent, hold the balance of power in the outgoing parliament. Recent opinion polls put the party on about 16 percent, up from 13 percent in the last election in September.

(Reporting by Johan Ahlander, Johan Sennero and Simon Johnson; Editing by Gareth Jones)