On vacancies

The Star reports that the new Con government still has a long way to go in filling some of its essential positions:

They are usually highly coveted, influential backroom jobs but as the Tories mark their first month since gaining office, many of the seats of power remain unoccupied.

Of the 27 cabinet ministers, three have yet to hire chiefs-of-staff — several key ministries, like defence and finance, named theirs in the last week — and more than half don't have communications directors or parliamentary affairs advisers...

A high-ranking ministerial official, who, like others interviewed, didn't wish to be named, said there is still a lot of indecision, and the slow pace of hiring means ministers are sometimes finding it hard to accomplish even basic tasks, like setting up meetings with colleagues to align departmental priorities.

In other words, the Cons don't appear to be any better organized behind the scenes than they've looked in public so far. And if the chaos lasts much longer, Harper's job may itself go back up for grabs sooner than he's anticipating.