Ms Gillard's Labor Party has the backing of one more MP than the Liberal-led coalition, and analysts say the prime minister will be forced to negotiate issue-by-issue with the opposition.

BBC: Australia parliament opens after knife-edge election

One of the more socially-liberal Conservatives, he was appointed shadow trade and industry Secretary in IDS' reshuffle in July 2002.

BBC: Tim Yeo

Mr Brooks proposes that whatever their respective merits, the conservative world view is more conducive to happiness than the liberal one (in the American sense of both words).

ECONOMIST: Lexington: The joys of parenthood | The

One of the more troubling signs for Democrats, perhaps, is that liberal advocacy groups have been spending money on television ads targeting Democratic lawmakers on health care.

CNN: Health care, Afghan war splits Democrats

"Couples in more liberal communities, shaped by the modern impulse to control the circumstances of one's life, are more likely to practice family planning, whether by natural or artificial methods, " according to the book.

WSJ: New research shows diversity among US Amish groups

This should shock no one: conservative donors to charity have radically different views about the reasons for giving than their more liberal counterparts.

FORBES: Giving Differently: Liberals and Conservatives Have Radically Different Views of Charity

Far more troubling than a political loss like the one this budget compromise represents is the loss of the liberal narrative.

FORBES: Obama, Austerity, and the Long Ideological Retreat