There were enough Canberrans looking for a change this year to put Labor on notice. But not enough who wanted the Canberra Liberals to take over and chart a considerably different course for the ACT.
The strong showing from independents Fiona Carrick in Murrumbidgee and Thomas Emerson in Kurrajong was the first concrete evidence that the message in favour of independents had resonated.
The return of independents in the Assembly is a significant shift after a more than two-decade absence. They could become bulwarks against the excesses and stumbles of a government whose agenda Canberra agrees with, but whose longevity puts it on the nose.
Still, the independents will have a lot to prove. It's a high bar to jump over to make it into the Assembly. What comes next is a sustained obstacle course the public will be right to judge very closely.
Labor insiders are hoping the Greens will cling on to three seats, which would give them a governing coalition of 13. That will be job done. For a government that's been around for more than 20 years, this was welcomed by its party faithful as an achievement.
Equally, there was confidence among Labor figures they would be able to work with independents if that is what it came down to.
The Canberra Liberals improved their primary vote and improved their position significantly in Brindabella, the southernmost seat. Brindabella was a very open competition after the retirement of two sitting members.
What the opposition had been chasing was a significant swing towards a very different version for the city. Majority government is virtually impossible in the ACT. It's only happened once since the start of self government.
The Liberals know they needed like-minded independents. But through the campaign it was unclear who they could be.
It's safe enough to say that Canberrans prefer progressive governments that settle a little closer to the political centre.
A moderate Liberal party might be acceptable, but despite the assurances of its moderate leader, Elizabeth Lee, there were still doubts about the conservative credentials of those running alongside her. The Liberals' policy positions were bold and populist, but in a city of detail-minded voters, they were always going to seem a tad dubious, a little out of reach.
There was something in the air this election, but the Liberals did not weave the right net to catch it.
And nor did the ACT Greens. Greens deputy leader Rebecca Vassarotti lost her seat, considered very marginal indeed, in Kurrajong. The party still has to work out how it lives in government and agitates outside it.
Ms Vassarotti's departure from the Assembly will also be a significant blow to the Greens' capability to mature as a political force.
The likely success of a couple of independents with well-managed, high-profile campaigns is a sign that Canberrans still wanted a progressive government. But they wanted to place some new - and different - caveats on it.
The territory has shown it does not have complete trust in Labor to run such governments unchecked, ad infinitum.
