They won't survive that in the polls, of course, but if they had any inclination to value partisan survival above the interests of their bloc, they wouldn't have let themselves become so firmly installed in the Moderates' back pocket. Being kingmakers is the raison d'etre for parties like the Center Party. Aligning, or being forced to align, with one bloc or the other ahead of time suffocates them in the same way trying to out-Thatcher the Tories suffocates a Social Democratic party.

- Jake

If you only spend 20 minutes of the rest of your life on economics, go spend them here.

On Wednesday the final count will be completed. Until then we'll see posturing, but nothing else. Then the real bargaining will start. This might last about two weeks, until parliament opens.

Right now there are only two options: either the Greens join the Alliance in government, or the Alliance will go it alone and damn the torpedoes. They probably feel pretty comfortable with that, even if they won't be able to win all the sessions in parliament.

Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.