Whoever gets the nod from the three independent MPs to form a minority government will be vulnerable to any unexpected departures, spectacular dummy spits, acts of God or other conniptions inside their own ranks during the next Parliament.
With the numbers in the House of Representatives finely balanced, neither Julia Gillard nor Tony Abbott can afford byelections in seats they hold or any defections - it could take just one seat changing hands to change the government.
Labor and Coalition strategists will devote themselves to reinforcing any perceived ''weak links'' on their side of the House.
Ageing stalwarts who might have considered resigning will be reassured their experience is valued and that it would be a tragedy for the public interest if they did not serve their full terms.
Philip Ruddock's reign as father of the House will continue. Those NSW Liberals snapping at his heels and muttering about clearing out the dead wood will be put back in their boxes.
Similar talk on the Labor side about the need for long-serving Victorian MPs like Simon Crean to make way on the frontbench for fresh talent will dry up.
Backbenchers with unorthodox policy ideas or other eccentricities may find their leaders' offices eager to have their input to the policy debates of the day: mavericks no more.
The Labor backbencher Kelvin Thomson's unfashionable ideas about population and immigration will get more attention inside Labor.
And the Liberal backbencher Peter Slipper, who defected from the Nationals to the Liberals in the early 1990s, will be cultivated and stroked by his colleagues after reports last week that Labor had sounded him out about becoming Speaker.
Massaging the egos of recalcitrant backbenchers who do not make it to the frontbench or are otherwise unhappy will be the order of the day. So will ensuring that internal disputes do not fester or spiral out of control.
Neither Labor nor the Coalition can afford to have one of their number ''do a Colston.''
The late Mal Colston was a Queensland Labor senator who wanted to be deputy president of the Senate after the 1996 election. After he failed to secure the numbers inside Labor for the position, he quit to sit as an independent.
So while Ms Gillard's party may have a venerable tradition of great Labor rats, the ALP hierarchy will do all it can to ensure there are no ''quisling Quasimodos from Queensland'' or anywhere else (to borrow the former Labor senator Robert Ray's memorable description of senator Colston).
There will be a premium for both leaders on avoiding the public scandals which can unexpectedly force sitting members to resign, triggering byelections.
It is pretty much a foregone conclusion that if any dirty linen emerges on the part of a sitting MP, his or her leader will decide it is not a resigning offence.
And without pushing the boundaries of good taste too far, some of the more florid or portly MPs may find colleagues encouraging them to take advantage of the Parliament House recreation centre's fitness training facilities.
Ms Gillard and Mr Abbott will have more than the usual reasons to pray for the continued good health of their fellow parliamentarians in the 43rd Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia.
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