Well said CJ.

A true reflection of democracy. I can remember as a teenager in the UK in the 80s seeing the Liberals (third party in UK politics) getting 25% of the vote and only 20-odd seats in a 600 seat parliament more than once. About 20-25% of the population regularly voted for them, and they got about 3% of the seats. That certainly wasn't democracy.

I'd prefer the Tasmanian system.

Good question Kay, the decision now rests with our Queen's representative, the Governor of Tasmania...oh the irony if he forced Bartlett to take the floor of the house as leader of the Government (as he constitutionally must) what happens then is anybody's guess, Labor and Liberal bedmates would be like seeing Tiger Woods at the Sydney gay and lesbian Mardi Gras, so we're left with the left controlling the left or the right going as left as they possibly can...Mmmmmm ;-)
and I fully agree cinders, single member electorates are a must as is non compulsory voting.

Well, Tasmanians have now got precisely what they collectively voted for - more of the same as the last three terms of government under Labor with the added ingredient of distinct uncertainty as a result of the Greens now being in a position to influence any and all government decision making in the Tasmanian Parliament.

This is a classic case of a completely indecisive electorate that, apparently, although highly dissatisfied with Labor, were incapable of making a change for the better for Tasmania. Essentially a vote for the Greens was, in effect, really a vote for Labor so those disaffected Labor voters who chose to vote Green actually achieved absolutely nothing; and that was always going to be the case, no matter what Bartlett and McKim may have to say about it as the dust settles. We now see what will become an unstable Labor/Green alliance

Tasmanian voters now have what they collectively deserve; precisely what they voted for: uncertainty and indecision from a government they apparently didn't want and a Premier elect who tried to tell everyone who would listen that he didn't want the job - what a laughing stock! The remainder of Australia will be left scratching their heads wondering which particular planet the people of Tasmania think they're living on - not the same one as everyone else by the looks of it! Yet another anachronism with Tasmanians leading the charge as usual.

The best thing the Liberals in Tasmania can now do is sit back and watch Labor and the Greens dig holes for themselves then gently push them as the opportunity arises. It's pretty much inevitable this will happen over time, once again no matter what sort of spin Bartlett and/or McKim try to put on it.

A week in Tasmanian politics has proved to be very long indeed. I think the past week has proved the effectiveness of our current system though. It is the Queen's representative who has come out as the most rational and composed player. Bartlett, Hodgeman and McKim have not come out so well. 65% of the electorate voted for left of centre parties (greens and labor) the outcome is appropriate - and the constitutional steps taken by the govenor have been deliberative and sound.

Jasper the Second is, of course, entirely right. None of the party leaders seem to have done themselves very much of a service over the past week. The decision on who will form the new government has been made and it's now up to the politicians to get on with it.

It's about time these guys stopped trying to score political points off one another and got on with the job of moving Tasmania forward. If that means cooperating with each other, as opposed to reverting to adverserial party politics, then that's what they all need to start doing. Nick McKim, on face value at least, seems to be advocating this although whether or not this is what the Greens, or either of the other political parties for that matter, will actually do in the interests of all Tasmanians, as opposed to pandering the internal interests of their party members as they have always tended to do in the past, is yet to be tested. The opportunity exists to change the culture of government i Tasmania; all Tasmanians must be living in hope that this will happen; if not one thing is certain - it will be very bad news for Tasmania.

Couldn't resist it, CJ.

>>As it stands, it looks like it will be quite some time before Labor governs again in Tasmania, if ever.<<

That's one of the perils of making predictions. Especially when they involve the future...

Looks like it may get exciting pretty quickly, though.

"In their lust for power, [the Greens have] sold out to the Labor party, soundly beaten at the election and have offered unconditional support – so when I said a vote for the Greens is a vote for Labor, I was right. [Mr Bartlett is] forming an illegitimate government with the support of the Greens – Tasmanians now have a Labor-Green government that is built on lies"

Lust... illegitimate government... lies...

Oooo-errr.

Hope we get the same level of excitement and intrigue in NSW.

All we have at the moment is a Labor party that has sold out to anyone with the price of a schooner, and who are running an illegitimate government with the support of a featherweight opposition, and whose entire policies are built on lies...

Plus ça change, eh?