A SENATOR who holds the key to passing the Federal Government’s agenda has declared she wants to be prime minister.

Tasmanian Palmer United Party Senator Jacqui Lambie, who secured only 1501 first-preference votes at the election and has called Prime Minister Tony Abbott a “psychopath” who needs a “bucket of cement” to “toughen up”, yesterday said she “absolutely” aspired to take on his job.

Senator Lambie, who lists her favourite weapon as an M60 submachine gun and only joined PUP because she was running out of money, has quickly emerged as the most outspoken of the eight new crossbenchers who hold the balance of power.

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But the PUP Senator has also been identified by senior members of the Government as the one who will be most difficult to deal with.

As she prepares to take her seat in the Senate on Monday, Senator Lambie has launched personal attacks against Mr Abbott and insisted she will not do deals with the Liberal Party.

Branding Mr Abbott a “political psychopath”, she accused him of putting his daughters at risk by “parading” them around during the election campaign last year.

Mr Abbott has refused to respond to her attack and said he would treat all senators equally.

But senior Liberals have conceded they are worried that Senator Lambie has an axe to grind against their party.

Before she joined up with Mr Palmer, Senator Lambie tried and failed to win Liberal preselection for the Tasmanian federal seat of Braddon.

Her attempt to win Liberal backing came after she had worked for former Labor senator Nick Sherry.

In the Liberal preselection ballot in 2012, Senator Lambie did not gain a single vote.

She later confronted Tasmanian Liberal Party state director Sam McQuestin and accused him of running a “boy’s club”.

Mr McQuestin rejected the attack, pointing to other female candidates.

He said she was later automatically expelled from the Liberal Party when she announced she would run against them.

“She was unwilling to play by our rules,” he said.

Senator Lambie has an unusual pedigree for a federal politician.

In a leaked email, PUP’s Queensland parliamentary leader Alex Douglas said she was a representative of “boganland” but later denied he called her a “bogan”.

The single mother of two fought a long-running battle with Veterans Affairs to receive compensation after leaving the army on medical grounds.

She wants more taxpayer-funded support for Tasmania, including from the foreign aid budget.

Senator Lambie also wants more assistance for military veterans.

She has ruled out supporting key Government policies including the $7 Medicare co-payment, deregulation of university fees and cuts to welfare.

The Government has so far failed to successfully reach out to the combative Senator.

The only Liberal known to have met with her recently is Tasmanian Stephen Parry, who sought her support to become Senate President.

Meanwhile, she has struck up a friendship with Labor’s leader in the Senate, Penny Wong, and has had discussions.

Originally published as Palmer’s ‘senutter’ wants to be PM