Where next for the nomination?

So Plaid Cymru has continued where it left off at the end of the last assembly term when it brought Labour's public health legislation crashing down.

Now there's deadlock over the nomination of the next first minister.

Any idea that there could be a harmonious working relationship between Labour and Plaid over the next five years has been well and truly put to bed.

The damage to Labour is clear. On the first day of the assembly, it does not appear to be in control of the situation.

There is a difference between a minority government calling the shots and an administration being bounced around by the opposition parties.

If Labour can't put together a government when it wants to, the inevitable question is what that means for prospects for completing what it called the "decade of delivery" in the election campaign.

The danger for Plaid is also clear, and revolves around the question of how toxic the association with UKIP will be for the party.

Deal or not deal?

Labour has already printed leaflets saying Leanne Wood has betrayed voters in the Rhondda, while Labour staffers have been busy taking screen-grabs of any images highlighting Plaid's claims that it wouldn't work with UKIP.

We are into the territory of semantics on when a deal is a deal.

Neil Hamilton says he was approached by Plaid on Monday.

Plaid insists there was no deal because no offer was made to UKIP. In other words, what UKIP and the Tories decide to do is up to them. As Plaid's Rhun ap Iorwerth said, this situation developed "organically."

The Labour line is that opening up any lines of communication between the two parties is not in the spirit of the campaign run by Leanne Wood.

This is partly wrapped up in the drama of the roll-call.

It's not as if the UKIP and the Conservative AMs voted for Leanne Wood in an anonymous electronic way, but instead each and every one of them called out Leanne Wood's name in the chamber.

New demands

This is what we know of the timeline of events. Leanne Wood asked Carwyn Jones on Tuesday for the nomination to be delayed by a week. He refused but offered Plaid a role in future budgets and legislation.

This wasn't good enough for Plaid so Labour went further on Wednesday and agreed to pull all its candidates for the job of presiding officer out of the race.

Labour says Carwyn Jones then repeatedly tried to call Leanne Wood yesterday before the nomination without getting through.

Where does it go from here?

What Labour has put on the table is the chance for Plaid to play a formal role in the next budget and any new legislation. At this stage, nothing new is planned.

Plaid has refused to say exactly what it wants, other than more time.

The party is boxed in by making it clear it doesn't want to enter a coalition with Labour, and obviously it can't enter into formal talks with the Conservatives and UKIP.

My sense is that Plaid will feel it is "job done" and Labour has been given a fright. But it could put the squeeze on even further with new demands.

It's fascinating already but if Plaid, for example, was to go to Labour and insist that the proposed £1bn M4 relief road at Newport should be scrapped - as a starter for ten - then things really could get interesting.