As Amber Jamieson wrote in yesterday’s Crikey Media Wrap: “Welcome to purgatory.”

Population? You, me and everybody in Australia. Most polls predicted a cliff hanger and they were right on the money, with neither major party reaching the magic 76 seat threshold needed to form government.

The press are scratching their noodles as they come to terms with what transpired over the weekend and whether it was good, bad or crazy in the coconut.

Just as the Australian public demonstrated decided uncertainty at the ballot box, the Australian press were also unsure what to make of the weekend’s events and thus no clear narrative emerged in today’s media.

There was talk about blaming Kevin Rudd, the father/son dynamic between John Howard and Tony Abbott, party factionalism, campaign strategizing (or lack thereof), the now crucial role of independents including Bob “Your Force From the North” Katter and much more.

Fists puncture the air, brows furrow and fingers furiously bang the keyboard as Australia plays….the waiting game.

Here’s a snapshot of what the pundits are saying.

The Australian

Dennis Shanahan: Rushed deal would not offer legitimacy

…when no side has been picked because the public has expressed its distrust of parties and politicians, any attempt to steal a mandate or do a cheap deal will rebound, and only trigger even more disenchantment and instability.

Paul Kelly: Seats, note votes, the critical measure as Tony Abbott gains the momentum

…the political momentum is with the Opposition Leader, and Labor’s governing legitimacy has been cast into serious doubt. The Prime Minister has the advantage of incumbency yet Abbott has the psychological edge, offering a new team to break the deadlock.”

The Punch

David Penberthy: They don’t totally love us but they like us a teensy bit more

As both sides start playing footsies with the independents, they are desperate to claim the mantle of legitimacy, to argue that the number of votes they received overall has given them a popular mandate.

Paul Colgan: Humble pie anyone? Top 10 furphies of the 2010 election

Humble pie is a real food. Modern derivatives of it are mainly sweet, but the original dish was something like shepherd’s pie, only made with animal entrails rather than meat. So that’s the recipe if you need to serve it up, and there’ll be many ruing their failed election result predictions today.

The Sydney Morning Herald

Lenore Taylor: At least, everyone might get a say

After three years of a government where even the full cabinet wasn’t let in on policy debates, the prospect of ideas being debated with independents in the lower house and with the Greens in the Senate is tantalising.

The Courier Mail

Dennis Atkins: Toxic states deliver killer blow to Labor brand

Rudd’s wrecking ball took its toll early and was then comically papered over with an insincere and unbelievable truce. The former prime minister also worked behind the scenes to undermine Wayne Swan, privately urging journalists to portray his one-time friend as the architect of his downfall.

The Herald Sun

Ben Packham: Libs back from dead

It’s been a remarkable journey for the man once dismissed as Parliament’s “Mad Monk”, a political attack dog and morals campaigner seen as light on policy smarts. But if he manages to form government, Tony Abbott will rightly be able to claim the victory as his own.

Nick Leys: Faith in Tony Abbott has its reward

The faces of the Howard old guard were everywhere as former staffers and advisers stood around the TV screens and hugged as “their boy” almost brought it home. And there was something fatherly in Howard’s praise of Abbott and the campaign that has put the Coalition in such as unexpected position.

Adelaide Now

Daniel Wills: Labor places blame at Rudd’s feet

Senior Labor figures have blamed former prime minister Kevin Rudd for the party’s electoral collapse, as an angry backlash began in the wake of a disastrous campaign result.

The Mercury

Sue Neales: Labor lost ‘light on hill’: Kerr

Retired Denison MP and Labor stalwart Duncan Kerr has blamed the likely loss of his old seat on a one-dimensional federal campaign by Julia Gillard’s government.