By Johan Sennero and Johan Ahlander
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden's Social Democrats called on Wednesday for centre-right parties to help it isolate the far-right anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats who have threatened to sink a left-leaning government budget and potentially force a new election.
The centre-left won Sunday's general election but fell short of a majority in parliament with the Sweden Democrats, who want to slash immigration by 90 percent, holding the balance of power in parliament.
Sweden Democrat leader Jimmie Akesson said his party, which shocked many in the country by winning 13 percent of Sunday's vote, did not rule out supporting an alternative budget to that put forward by a new centre-left government, which the Social Democrats would lead.
Akesson's statement was seen by many observers as the newly powerful Sweden Democrats trying to flex their muscles in public, although few think the far right would immediately risk sparking another election.
Sweden has been ruled by a four-party centre-right Alliance for the past eight years and cooperation with the centre-left parties has been very limited.
After they lost Sunday's election the Alliance parties have been reluctant to pledge any support to the centre-left parties, meaning the Sweden Democrats would hold the balance of power.
"Today's diehard (centre-right and centre-left) block politics gives Jimmie Akesson space to play his games", Mikael Damberg, group leader of the Social Democrats in parliament, said to news agency TT on Wednesday.
"I think it is time for all parties to realize how harmful block policy is for Sweden in this parliamentary situation."
If the Sweden Democrats vote down the government's budget it would force its resignation and possibly a new election.
Akesson said the Sweden Democrats wanted less spending on asylum seekers - estimated to cost Sweden 140 billion crowns (£12 billion) over the next four years.
"We can be forced into a situation where, for political reasons, we have to chose a budget that is the least damaging for Sweden," Sweden Democrat leader Jimmie Akesson told reporters. "What we do depends entirely on the contents (of the budgets)," Akesson said.
All Sweden's parties have ruled out cooperation with the Sweden Democrats.
EMPTY THREAT?
The leader of the Centre Party - part of the outgoing Alliance government - played down the threat of the Sweden Democrats forcing a new vote.
"I think it is very unlikely that the Sweden Democrats will vote for an Alliance budget with a policy that says 'open your hearts to immigrants'," Centre Party leader Annie Loof said.
"That's a big contrast to their own policy."
After Sunday's vote, Social Democrat leader and likely new prime minister Stefan Lofven is trying to build a stable government that can push through a budget in a few weeks.
The Green Party is likely to be part of a government and Lofven can probably rely on support from the Left Party, though he has said they will not be invited to join his cabinet.
Left Party leader Jonas Sjostedt said on Wednesday that he had agreed to discuss supporting a Social Democrat-Green budget.
But that would still leave him short of a majority in the 349-seat parliament.
Minority governments are not uncommon in Sweden, but a centre-left government under Lofven, a former union boss and welder, looks like being particularly weak.
By tradition in Sweden, all parties in parliament put forward a budget and vote only for their own proposal.
That has allowed minority governments to pass financial policy relatively easily.
However, the outgoing four-party Alliance government says it will put forward a common budget when it is in opposition, giving the Sweden Democrats the opportunity to exercise their hold on the balance of power.
If Lofven can form a government, he will need to present a budget bill no later than Nov. 17.
(Reporting by Johan Sennero; Editing by Alistair Scrutton and Toby Chopra)
