The Blogosphere gives its take on Saturday night's election

The Maori MPs from left: Hone Harawira, Rahui Katene, Pita Sharples, Tariana Turia and Te Ururoa Flavell.

The Blogosphere has begun analysing the outcome of Saturday night.

Kiwiblog's

David Farrar

has a section on the position of the eight parties in Parliament prior to the election with a look at Labour's potential leadership and National's potential cabinet.

"Phil Goff will be the new Leader I predict. If the ballot has been delayed even a year, then maybe not. But I suspect he may be elected unopposed," Farrar writes.

"The interesting thing will be deputy. It has to be a female or a Maori to keep factions happy. I somehow can't see Goff happy with Maryan Street as his deputy (and I see she has ruled herself out) so suspect Annette King could take the job."

As for John Key, Farrar writes his next task is forming a Cabinet.

"To put it bluntly there are too many contenders and some will be disappointed. Key will need some of the 1990s ministers for their experience and stability, but signal to those MPs that they should not expect a six to nine year term in Cabinet this time around [...]"

Farrar goes on to write that the 2005 intake of MPs will "need some managing".

Over at

The Pundit

Tim Watkin writes that the country has done a political hokey-tokey.

"About two per cent of potential Greens supporters went back to Labour, two per cent of Labour supporters crossed the line to National, and two per cent of National voters, confident the right centre-right had it in the bag but wanting to push National further from the centre, moved to ACT."

Mr Watkin writes that Kiwis got bored with their "dependable pair of shoes" and felt the need to "spruce ourselves up a bit, while not wanting "significant reform or a swing to the right".

"ACT and its five MPs will try to pull Key further right than his campaign promised, as will a number of his front bench Lockwood Smith, Tony Ryall, Murray McCully and others. If he wants to be more than a one-term prime minister, he must resist those temptations. National does not have a mandate to do what Hide, the returning Sir Roger Douglas and National's right wing will want it to do."

Under the headline: "Congratulations, Mr Key", Russell Brown writes in his

Public Address

blog that Key has a mandate.

"Key can take much personal credit for the victory, if only because the campaign strategy focused so heavily on him. Not only were National's old guard kept out of the spotlight, we simply never saw the likes of Stephen Joyce, the new list MP and (we are told) anointed Cabinet minister.

Brown continues: "If his victory speech was that of a man without a lyrical bone in his body, Key finished the campaign in much better shape than he began it. A critical bloc of voters decided they did trust John Key, personally."

The Whale Oil blog writes on what ACT will be bringing to the coalition and possibly what leader Rodney Hide could be discussing with Mr Key this afternoon.

Whale Oil

writes that ACT will be looking for the three strikes and you're out law and order policy, cutting government spending and dumping the emissions trading scheme.

"Brilliant and exactly why we needed a stronger ACT in government with National. Rodney should also make sure that Nick Smith is nowhere near anything to do with the environment."

Whale Oil finishes by adding to ACT's list that Roger Douglas be the head of the "Razor gang", establishing an independent anti-corruption commission and a "Commissioner of Unions to ensure open, transparent, accountable trade unions operate in the best interests of their members."

At the other end of the spectrum the