Shuffle Demons

The lineup:

Rob Nicholson: Justice. A promotion from House Leader and Democratic Reform.

Monte Solberg: Human Resouces & Social Development. A definite step-up from Immigration & Citizenship, where his strengths as an economic critic were never put into serious play.

Vic Toews: Justice to Treasury Board. A sideways move in reality, if an unfortuante capitulation to the liberal elites who didn't want a social conservative in the job.

Rona Ambrose: Environment to Intergovernmental Affairs (for the Constitution and fiscal imbalance related questions to blow up in her face); Western Economic Diversification (to hand out the pork to the starving masses of Saskatchewan) and President of the Queen's Privy Council (a sinecure to hide her away in for a while).

Diane Finley: Citizenship & Immigration. Switching jobs with Solberg. A step down to a portfolio no Conservative can ever look good in.

John Baird: Environment. Big, big, step up for one of Harper's most trusted lieutenants. All of Ambrose's positives (young, energetic, telegenic, intelligent) without a big negative (Albertan too close to the oilpatch to buy into Kyoto.)

Peter Van Loan: Government House Leader & Democratic Reform. Of course, he was just keeping the seat warm at Intergovernmental Affairs for Rona.

No less important is who didn't move: Jim Flaherty, Maxime Bernier, Stockwell Day, Tony Clement and (inexplicably) Peter MacKay. We know now, a year into the government, who's trusted to manage their departments without PMO hovering over their shoulders.

And if she wasn't from Calgary, Diane Ablonczy would be in Cabinet by now. She's just too talented not to be. But then, considerations of regional balance ensure that some weaklings get in and some capable folk get left out.