MALCOLM Turnbull's great escape from the media pack to catch a train to marginal seats on election day tells you a lot about a politician who refuses to play by the rules. 
But there are some rules even the Prime Minister cannot escape. Convinced voters were sick of "juvenile" gotcha moments and political slogans he got mugged by the reality of a Labor Party scare campaign that worked.
Last night, there was still the real possibility of a hung Parliament. Labor believes it caught the Prime Minister napping in the final week, too confident he would win as they unleashed a brutal scare campaign on Medicare.
The ALP polls tracked up consistently in the final days of the campaign. It was nailbiting stuff with the Prime Minister still holed up in his Point Piper mansion, as the Labor Party dared to dream it could form government with the independents.
Securing a fragile mandate to govern will not mean the Prime Minister is free to pursue policy whims on climate change, asylum seekers or same sex marriage.
While the Prime Minister did play a leadership role in freeing more children from detention in Australia he supports the three pillars of the Coalition's border protection policy: boat turnbacks, offshore processing and temporary protection visas.
Anyone who assumes the Prime Minister is now free to thumb his nose at his modest group of detractors doesn't understand the Liberal Party or politics.
In recent months there have been spot fires for the Prime Minister on superannuation, negative gearing and the GST.
In most cases these disagreements have been fanned by a small group of Abbott supporters. The former Prime Minister has even publicly intervened on some issues in the partyroom.
These MPs have raised concerns over the retrospective nature of proposed superannuation reforms on principle. They reflect the concerns of the Liberal Party base.
There are few observers who are convinced that Treasurer Scott Morrison's changes will emerge from the partyroom intact after the election. Remember, the reforms were presented in the   May budget and then rushed off to the election without a debate.
When Parliament resumes in   August that debate will be had. If the Turnbull government is forced to accept changes to the super reforms it will clearly have an impact on the projected savings. The main area of controversy is the $1.6 million cap on tax-free super nest eggs on retirement. You would be a mug to bet those changes will emerge from the Senate unscathed.
The Prime Minister's personal income tax cuts for workers earning more than $80,000 are likely to secure support. Labor has indicated it will back the tax cuts.
But the fate of the Prime Minister's company tax cuts are another matter. This was a big promise that has scant hope of emerging from the Senate in its current form.
The same sex marriage debate is a big opportunity for the Prime Minister to secure a progressive reform under the banner of the Liberal Party.
It is popular with voters and the prospect of watching conservatives deliver the change will wound the Labor Party but it is likely to prove a political minefield that and a huge test for his authority.Malcolm Turnbull's authority is derived from the people and the Liberal party room and now more than ever he ignores his colleagues at his own peril.