Analysis: Jimmie Åkesson is now definitely in the cabin heat

Other parties' relations with the Sweden Democrats have long been a key issue in Swedish politics. Ultimately, it also decided the latest government formation. Both the Center Party and the Liberals justified their support for the Social Democrats and Stefan Löfven in that it was the only way to keep the Sweden Democrats away from political power.

However, following the January agreement, the tone of both the Christian Democrats and the Moderates has changed vis-à-vis the Swedish Democrats. Earlier pledges to never cooperate or cooperate with the Sweden Democrats have been discreetly removed from the rhetoric.

KD leader Ebba Busch Thor took a first step when she met Jimmie Åkesson for an individual meeting this summer. With today's meeting between Ulf Kristersson and Jimmie Åkesson, the isolation of the Swedish Democrats is definitely broken. If Ebba Busch Thor glared at the door, Ulf Kristersson now opens it at the gable. The Swedish Democrats are now definitely in the cabin heat.

It is not just about the symbolic significance of the fact that the party leaders for the parliament's two largest opposition parties now seem prepared to start cooperating. It is also about that what is happening now can be the starting point for a new political block and thus a continued change in the political landscape in Sweden.

For a long time, Ulf Kristersson twisted like a mask on the metro hook when he was asked questions about his view on cooperation with the Sweden Democrats. At all costs, he tried to avoid answering the questions. Concerns were great about creating divisions in their own party. It now seems to be history. Most moderates today seem prepared to accept the Sweden Democrats as a partner.

It is also noticeable when, after today's meeting, Ulf Kristersson describes how the Moderates and the Swedish Democrats should work together to develop a policy that can win a majority in Parliament. It is about migration policy, energy policy and law and order, to take some concrete examples. Here, of course, the Christian Democrats will also be a part of the cooperation, but during this term, this constellation has only a small opportunity to push through its politics. In fact, it is not even enough if they are supported by the Liberals, unless individual members of parliament vote incorrectly in decisive votes.

Nevertheless, the new cooperation can have a great impact on how the opposition coordinates its policy in the coming years and thus also on the starting field for the next electoral movement.

The dynamics of politics also mean that if parties cooperate, they also tend to be pushed even closer together, both because they advance and defend common proposals, but also because they are welded together when attacked by their opponents.

However, many voters are surely surprised that parties that until just a few years ago dismissed SD as a more or less racist party are now prepared to sit down and cooperate with them. The main explanation is spelled out in real politics and government power.

If the Moderates should ever be able to get back to government power, the Swedish Democrats today appear to be the only way to get there. Ulf Kristersson has drawn that conclusion and that is why he invited Jimmie Åkesson to his working room in Parliament today.

But it may not be as Ulf Kristersson thought. The changed power relations in Swedish politics mean that the Swedish Democrats will not sell themselves cheaply. Jimmie Åkesson is clear that he wants to translate his growing parliamentary power into increased political influence. In the end, it can prove difficult to digest for both Ulf Kristersson and Ebba Busch Thor.