Time for the major parties to acknowledge their significant others

Only time will tell if PM-elect Abbott will be humbler and shrewder in his dealings with the Senate.

But the signs are not good.

In order to wreck the Gillard government Tony Abbott campaigned relentlessly against 'minority government'. He was ruthless in his depiction of Gillard's willingness to compromise her party's policy position to secure the support of the Greens as 'lying' to the Australian public.

And now, we see Tony Abbott taking a tough line with future crossbench Senators warning them not to 'stymie' the Coalition's 'mandate'. That sort of approach did not work for Rudd I, and it was certainly not the Howard approach to minority in the Senate.

The Coalition has looked at the last three years and promised a style of leadership that is not open to negotiating with the views of 'others'.

Could Tony Abbott's perceived strength and single mindedness turn out to be one of his biggest weaknesses?

The weekend's election result leaves us with many questions. Will the carbon price be abolished? Will the senate voting rules be changed? And, if major parties refuse to listen to the will of Australian people, will there be another election in the not too distant future?