What a long, strange trip it's been.

"Suffer in yer jocks, Tone."

So. It ends.

Some thoughts – for the last time – on what it all means, if anything.

First thing, there’s no reason why the current arrangement in the Federal Parliament can’t work and work well. Hung parliaments have lasted substantial terms and delivered good results elsewhere in Australia (including Jules’ home state of Victoria) and if anybody can make it work, it’s the Wonder from Wales.

Second, the suggestion already running in sections of the media that “the arrangement is already under pressure” is complete and utter crap. The independents have made it quite clear that they will only vote for confidence and supply motions; everything else will have to be negotiated on the floor of the House. This will, of course, mean disagreements from time to time – as it should be.

Third, the Liberals will never accept this.

Never.

In their cold, reptilian, brains they are convinced of the utter rightness of their cause and if they can force election after election until the electorate gets it Right – then so be it.

Fourth, ignore all the guff about “legitimacy” or “number of votes”. The long standing convention in this is that the party that can form a majority on the floor of the lower house has the right to form government. That’s it, the end, finish.

And lastly, I have no idea how this will all pan out; it could fall over in three months, it could last three years. Anybody who says they can predict what will happen is a fool and a dick-biscuit.

And the Red Flag is flying once more over Karl Kautsky House.

Thank you.

UPDATE

I know this post is already getting ridiculously unwieldy, but this is too good to ignore

And in particular this passage;

A large proportion of the Coalition vote base believes there is one and only one acceptable outcome in politics – theirs. And it is this zealotry that will explode.

The temptation for the Opposition to continue to exploit this belligerence, as they so successfully did in the lead up to the campaign and in the campaign itself, will be overwhelming. When all that stands between the Opposition and a new election – a new chance at *power* - is one scandal, one stuff up, one member of parliament changing – the attraction of flicking the switch to rhetorical overdrive for effect, and righteous indignation to incite their masses, will simply be too great. No distortion will be too large, no lie too audacious, no accusation too brazen.

And they will be ably assisted and their supporters commercially exploited, by the leadership and opinion section of The Australian – not to mention the curmudgeonly Lesser Scribes infesting the sewer end of the News Ltd tabloids and that growing group of feeble minded cowards at the ABC whom appear to have lost any capacity for intellectual autonomy when it comes to independently assessing the dynamics of Australian politics.