Swedish Social Democrat Stefan Loefven's hopes of forming a coalition government following weekend elections were clouded Wednesday as the far-right set the stage for a battle over the 2015 budget. Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Akesson, whose far-right party more than doubled their support in the Sunday polls to 13 percent, hinted that he may back a budget that the outgoing centre-right Alliance coalition has vowed to submit.
Akesson told reporters that the Sweden Democrats were also considering drafting their own budget for next year. With three 2015 budgets on the table, "it's clear that we may feel constrained to choose the one that is the least harmful to Sweden rather than abstaining", he added. If Loefven's budget is not adopted, parliament could be dissolved and new elections called. While his party placed first in Sunday's polls with 32 percent of the vote, Loefven, 57, faces hard going if Alliance and Sweden Democrats rally together behind the rival budget.
Vote-counting was continuing on Wednesday, but projections show the left short of a parliamentary majority with 158 seats, to 142 for the centre-right and 49 for the surging far-right. Loefven is in talks with the Greens, who won 6.8 percent of the vote, about a possible coalition, and was also expected to seek the support of the former communist Left Party (5.7 percent).