One certainty about elections is that voters always win. Political parties may not like the result or quite understand it but they have to respect it. Almost as certain is that, sooner or later, yesterday's losers become tomorrow's winners.

As the reality of defeat sinks in, the Coalition has to accept that it made serious mistakes in its fourth term of government but should never concede that it can't win the next election. That will be hard, especially over the next few months, when the best way to get a headline will be to engage in self-criticism.

Right now, Kevin Rudd seems to have the Midas touch. Similarly, everyone associated with the former government is portrayed as a has-been or a potential spoiler. Even so, it is only three years since John Howard looked invincible and Rudd was Labor's third choice behind Mark Latham and Kim Beazley. There is little reason to think the circumstances that give rise to today's ascendancy will be any more permanent than those that gave rise to yesterday's.