Finland's conservative National Coalition, winner of this month's parliamentary election, said on Thursday it hopes to form a majority government together with the eurosceptic, anti-immigration Finns Party and two smaller groups.
The four parties will negotiate under the leadership of National Coalition Party (NCP) head Petteri Orpo, a fiscal conservative who is widely expected to replace left-wing leader Sanna Marin as Finland's next prime minister.
"We really have big challenges ahead, we have to make difficult decisions, we have to make savings, we have to make reforms but I think they can be done and with this combination I think we can do it," Orpo told a news conference.
The NCP won 48 seats in the April 2 election, ahead of the Finns with 46, while Marin's Social Democrats came third with 43 elected members of the 200-seat parliament.
Its victory follows elections in Sweden, Finland's Nordic neighbour, last September which handed power to a right-wing bloc amid concern among voters over gang crime some link to immigration.
That ballot also handed substantial influence over policy-making to the far-right Sweden Democrats, a grouping which Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson now relies on to stay in government.
In addition to the NCP and the Finns, Orpo also aims to include the Swedish People's Party, which holds nine seats, and the Christian Democrats with five, bringing the total potential support to 108.
But before he can take office, Orpo must find common ground with the nationalist Finns Party and its leader Riikka Purra, most notably on the contentious issue of immigration and asylum seekers. The Finns Party has seen its support rise on the back of concerns over the inflow of migrants into the Nordic state.
While Purra has said her party would like to curb both humanitarian and work-based immigration from outside of Europe, Orpo has suggested he is ready to review asylum policy but wants to continue to welcome skilled workers to Finland.
"Since I was elected party leader ... I have made it clear that immigration, which is a threat to both security and economy, is a very important issue to us," Purra said on Thursday.
If the talks fail, Orpo can still attempt to negotiate with other parties.
(Reporting by Essi Lehto, editing by Terje Solsvik)
