By Madonna KingJulia Gillard goes into Parliament later this month as conductor to an extraordinary choir of voices - and it will be her mammoth job to get them to sing from the same songbook.
Her ministry rewards those factional plotters who gave her the job, as well as the man she deposed.
The "gang of four'' is history, a traditional Cabinet Government will decide on policy, with backbenchers given more say across the board.
In short, everyone has a say on everything - and there-in lies Julia Gillard's first big hurdle.
Only a by-election away from a general election, Gillard knows she must keep her own team happy, stick to the promises she's made to the independents, implement parliamentary reforms which reduce the power of her Government, and develop a new consensus politics.
She's also promised to care and share more with Tony Abbott, and to listen more closely to voters - both those who voted for and against her.
Who knows where all this will lead? The Coalition has signalled it will use the hung Parliament for its own purposes - and will try and get a judicial inquiry into the Government's school building program up for starters.
Or perhaps the new paradigm could force Labor and the Coalition to work more closely together because the alternative could cede power to the minor parties and independents.
It all seems a bit like Julia Gillard conducting an orchestra without a rehearsal - or perhaps even walking a tightrope, as one of her advisers quipped privately this week.
A big number of voters won't appreciate that Bill Shorten and Mark Arbib - those who helped get her the big office - are being rewarded with increased responsibilities.
Peter Garrett's appointment is also risky, given any analysis of his performance during the last term. He's been given the schools portfolio, and must succeed there given Gillard's political and personal focus on school education.
Already, her decision to drop the word "education'' from any minister's title is causing grief, with universities saying the new Government is devaluing the importance of the sector.
Don't forget either, that many on her own side expect Kevin Rudd to be a thorn in her side. Gillard's already warned him he's got to play with the team, saying the buck stopped with her as Prime Minister on foreign policy.
What's not clear is whether Rudd, who kept a very close eye on foreign policy as prime minister, agrees with that approach or how he will go about navigating Gillard's plan for an off-shore processing centre - a proposal he is reportedly lukewarm about.
Keeping the team united will not be an easy task. Will Stephen Smith want to pull up a chair next to Kevin Rudd in Cabinet, for example?
Will other ministers with a planned legislative agenda voice criticism of the independents, who might want to stymie it?
On the periphery of her team, too, egos will need to be massaged well, and regularly.
How does Gillard deal with the Greens or independents supporting the Opposition's legislation, for example?
Already parental leave has been raised as one issue where Labor could be sidelined - and strategically she will not want to lose on the floor on any issue, particularly early in the term.
The independents, with a taste of the spotlight, won't want to lose that, and even illness that prompts an MP to take sick leave could rob Gillard of crucial legislative reform by losing a vote on the floor of Parliament.
All this points to two things: firstly, a less adversarial Parliament, and perhaps even a determination to include as many as possible in decision-making; and secondly, less bold policy making.
The first point is a bonus for voters; the second risks a term of Parliament where a vision for our future comes a very distant second to losing a parliamentary vote.
Julia Gillard has won the Prime Minister's job in her own right. It's up to her now how she uses it.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/09/14/3010806.htm?site=thedrum
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Conducting an orchestra without a rehearsal (Read 443 times)
