Assume nothing.
That is the unambiguous message for Tony Abbott out of the first sitting week of the new Senate.
The first indication was the new crossbench's dismissal of a government move on Monday - soon after their swearing in - to bring the carbon tax repeal bills ahead "without formalities".
Palmer United Party senators feared this would have curtailed debate on their amendments, while Labor's Claire Moore said the government should wait for a Senate committee report into the bills to be tabled.
A second twist in the saga came when Ricky Muir voted with Labor, the Greens and two other crossbenchers, but not PUP, to block the government's attempt to gag and guillotine the debate on the carbon tax repeal.
Coalition tacticians assumed Muir, who has an agreement with PUP, would vote with his cohorts.
But he had other ideas.
He may have been influenced by independent Nick Xenophon, who pleaded: "Let's sit as many hours as we need to so that no senator, no party, no individual is deprived of the right to ask key questions about these bills."
Muir was worried he may have been deprived of the right to discuss his bid to keep the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
On Thursday, the government appeared to finally have all its ducks in a row after a reconciliation of sorts between Muir and PUP over ARENA, as well as a deal with PUP to ensure electricity and gas price cuts are passed through.
The government moved another fast-track motion to ensure the repeal bills were put to a vote before noon.
But this time Clive Palmer threw a spanner in the works.
With little warning he tabled a change to an amendment on which he already had government agreement.
But a tangled web of communication breakdowns, advice from Senate officials and general incompetence led to the latest version of the Palmer amendment being dropped and the PUP senators siding with Labor to vote down the repeal bills.
Palmer claimed he had received a "violent" reaction to his latest amendments when he showed it to senior government figures.
But he later received an assurance the government would support the changes when the repeal bills go before the lower house on Monday.
The government also faced the embarrassment of one of its own crossing the floor when Ian Macdonald backed Xenophon's call for a review of network charges - the key contributor to power price hikes.
It's not out of the question that the coalition faces further twists next week.
Liberal Democrats senator David Leyonhjelm and Family First's Bob Day are not happy with the latest Palmer amendments, arguing they are an added impost on business.
If Xenophon and crossbench colleague John Madigan also take issue, it could be a very difficult week for Abbott.
The new crossbenchers appear to have a growing fan club in the electorate.
The latest Essential poll puts PUP's national support at six per cent and "other" at seven per cent.
Added to the nine per cent backing for the Australian Greens, it means more than one in five voters don't support a major party.
Many voters believe the senators are filling a niche in the political market left by the Liberal-National coalition and Labor failing to provide suitable candidates and responsive leadership.
As Leyonhjelm said, turning Paul Keating's insult on its head: "We are the most representative swill ever assembled."
There is another downside for the government which can be summed up in one word: deficit.
Treasurer Joe Hockey's prospects of getting Senate approval to balance the books within four years look decidedly wobbly.
Palmer has outlined more than $9 billion in government cuts which he says should not go ahead.
The mining magnate told the National Press Club this week he did not care if the debt blew out if it meant pensioners would not be short-changed.
PUP senator Jacqui Lambie, who met with Abbott in Canberra to discuss her concerns and mend some fences after calling him a "political psychopath", has a $5 billion wishlist for her state of Tasmania.
Labor opposes cuts of at least $15 billion, and perhaps as much as $40 billion, in spending.
Greens leader Christine Milne summed up the week describing Abbott as a "crash-through or crash prime minister".
"And he has crashed," she said.
The crash-through can't be assumed.
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