def as_single_element(self):
        """
        Processes the response as a single-element response,
        like config_get or system_counters_get.
        If there is more then one element in the response or no
        elements this raises a ResponseError
        """
        if self.as_return_etree is None:
            return None
        if len(self.as_return_etree.getchildren()) == 1:
            return _populate_bunch_with_element(self.as_return_etree.
                                                getchildren()[0])
        return _populate_bunch_with_element(self.as_return_etree)