STOCKHOLM, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Sweden's political left and right blocs will both outline plans on Friday to win Centre Party backing for a new government and break weeks of deadlock following a tight election.
Both blocs support continued aid for Ukraine and higher defence spending, but the outcome could reshape Sweden's political landscape for years to come.
The Centre Party has set a 1600 GMT deadline for proposals on how each side would secure a working majority without handing power to parties on the right or left extremes.
The centre-left, headed by Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson, won a slim majority in September's vote, but has been unable to agree on how to share power.
"A government of the Social Democrats, the Centre Party and the Greens has the highest chance of taking office," Andersson said on Instagram.
She has said that, in line with a Centre Party demand, she would give the Left Party a say over policy but no cabinet posts.
Caretaker Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said he would hand over a centre-right government policy proposal to the Centre Party later on Friday.
"We have had good discussions among our four parties aimed at forming a centre-right government," he told reporters in Dublin ahead of an informal EU summit.
OBSTACLES FOR BOTH BLOCS
Centre Party leader Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist has said she will take the weekend to think over both blocs' proposals before making a decision.
Neither Andersson's nor Kristersson's path to office is easy.
So far, the Left Party has refused to drop its demand for cabinet positions, and the Centre Party says it won't accept Left Party ministers.
Kristersson, meanwhile, must convince the Centre Party that a centre-right government would not be dependent on the far-right Sweden Democrats. But without their votes it is unclear how he could pass a budget.
"It's a chicken race," Jonas Hinnfors, professor of political science at Gothenburg University said. "The stakes are high and whoever blinks first could lose."
Sweden will face a fresh election within three months if the deadlock continues.
An opinion poll for Swedish television showed the centre-right would get a clear majority if a vote were held now.
COMPETING VISIONS FOR SWEDEN
Whatever happens, the political consequences could be profound.
The Social Democrats had their worst election result and could struggle to regain power if they fail to form a government now.
Andersson has pledged more spending on healthcare and welfare, a fairer tax system and a faster green industrial transition.
Analysts said a Kristersson government, likely to favour income tax cuts and tougher law-and-order policies, would struggle to balance tensions between the Centre Party and the Sweden Democrats, a party with roots in the neo-Nazi movement.
"A Kristersson-led government would be very weak and dependent on the Sweden Democrats," said Jenny Madestam, a political scientist at Sodertorn University.
"Every parliamentary vote would become uncertain."
(Reporting by Simon Johnson and Johan Ahlander; editing by Niklas Pollard and Ros Russell)
