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* Fico may struggle after centre-right wins majority
* President gives Fico until Wednesday to do deal
* Will seek two-party coalition, won't drag out talks
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By Martin Santa
BRATISLAVA, June 14 (Reuters) - Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico will have the first shot at forming a government after his party won the most votes in a weekend election but may struggle to find partners among centre-right rivals that garnered a combined majority.
Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic asked Fico and his SMER party on Monday to try to form the next government, following the tradition of giving the biggest single vote getter -- with 35 percent -- the first shot at creating a new government.
Fico said he would seek a two-party coalition but analysts have given him little chance of being able to muster a majority after centre-right rivals rejected negotiations with the leftist SMER.
The vote showed a shift towards economic liberals whose reforms led Slovakia into the EU in 2004 and earned billions in foreign investment and away from SMER, which appealed to poorer votes with pledges to help workers and curb big business.
"We will seek negotiations with all parties in parliament," Fico said, adding he would not drag out talks.
Gasparovic gave Fico until June 23 to try to form a government. SMER won 62 seats in the 150-member Parliament.
Four centre-right and ethnic Hungarian parties won a majority with 79 seats on Saturday and looked set to be able to oust Fico with a coalition set on cutting the budget gap and improving ties with neighbour Hungary [
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RIGHT-WING COALITION TALKS
The conservative SDKU, which ruled the euro zone's poorest country from 1998 to 2006, was second in the vote tally with 15.4 percent. It has begun coalition talks with the conservative Christian Democrats (KDH), the newly formed liberal Freedom and Solidarity party (SaS), and the ethnic Hungarian Most-Hid party.
Analysts say a centre-right coalition would be better placed to cut a budget deficit that spiked to 6.8 percent of annual economic output last year after the export-reliant economy shrank 4.7 percent.
The European Commission forecasts Slovakia to top the bloc this year with a 2.7 percent economic expansion, same as neighbour Poland.
SDKU, when it was in charge before, introduced a 19 percent flat tax rate, sold major state companies and overhauled clumsy pension and welfare systems -- making the country an investor darling after it joined the EU in 2004.
The centre-right parties are regarded to be best-placed to mend relations with Hungary strained over the status of Slovakia's half-a-million population of ethnic Hungarians.
But many politicians on the right have questioned whether Slovakia, a country of 5.4 million that switched its crowns for euros in January 2009, should be helping richer euro zone members like Greece.
SDKU and SaS have said they would refuse to pay Slovakia's 800-million-euro share of the EU bailout for Greece. Some analysts have said they may withdraw that threat.
(Reporting by Martin Santa, writing by Jason Hovet; Editing by Mark Heinrich)