Swedish opposition plans coalition after 2010 vote

Sweden's three opposition parties said they would build a coalition should they win power at the next parliamentary election.

The Social Democrats, the Green Party and the Left Party said in a joint statement they were deepening their cooperation "with the aim of asking for a mandate for a common coalition government after the 2010 election".

The Social Democrats lost power in 2006, after decades of nearly continuous leadership, to an alliance of four centre and right parties which had made a similar vow two years earlier.

In the statement the parties said they would campaign separately under their own manifestos in the run-up to the next election, but would present a joint economic policy proposal in the spring of 2010.

The current government, led by the Moderate Party, gained power on promises to boost employment through easing one of the world's heaviest tax burdens but also chipping away at welfare benefits.

It has long been trailing badly in opinion polls against the left bloc, but has made up some ground in recent months.