WHO?:

Here's what Tory cabinet could be: In his first nightmare duty as PM, Harper would have a mind-boggling array of choices to make (GREG WESTON, 1/22/06, TORONTO SUN)

As always, Harper will be faced with a dizzying matrix of considerations in making his cabinet picks -- geography, gender, ethnicity, experience, political IOUs, electoral strategies and last but sometimes least, the ability to head a multibillion-dollar ministry with thousands of employees and 34 million shareholders watching every move.

In Harper's case, there is another key factor that will come into play -- namely, whether the Conservatives win a majority or a minority.

If it is a minority, Harper may try to minimize the learning curve for his new ministry by moving some existing opposition critics into their corresponding portfolios in government.

If the Conservatives get a majority and the luxury of up to five years in office, experience in government and familiarity with the issues of a specific portfolio would not be essential job qualifications for cabinet.

That said, whatever the size of a Conservative win Monday night, Harper's biggest cabinet-building headache will be deciding whom to leave out.

Most of Harper's friends and loyalists are Alberta MPs, as are a disproportionately large number of other highly capable members of party -- in fact, too many for all of them to be included in a regionally balanced cabinet.

Calgary MP Lee Richardson and Kevin Sorenson from Crowfoot, for instance, should both be in the cabinet, but may well get squeezed out in the Alberta overload.

Over the past week, we asked various Conservative insiders who they think would occupy the front bench of a Conservative government. The picture that emerges is a cabinet full of talent, intelligence, experience and, surprisingly, youth.