The federal election may still be a week away, but the media appear to have virtually declared Stephen Harper and his Conservatives the winners.

Weekend papers and TV programming were filled with items about who Harper really is, the transition process and who may be in cabinet with far less attention on Paul Martin and the Liberals.

In addition, several pollsters predicted in the media the Conservatives are now unstoppable.

As helpful as the media coverage may be to the Conservatives at this point, there may be a price for that extra momentum. There are also signs that the media are skipping the usual honeymoon afforded a new government and getting down to tough questions already.

For example, Paul Darby, the Conference Board of Canada economist who vetted the Conservative economic platform, disclosed in an interview with the Globe and Mail that he was not given two important parts to cost out in his evaluation — promises to guarantee patient waiting times and address the fiscal imbalance with the provinces. The Globe described Darby as uncomfortable during the interview.

Whether the Globe’s suspicions are warranted, the sheer velocity of media coverage in this campaign and its aftermath will put extra pressure on the victors from their first day in power.

On the investment front, the Toronto Star questioned another part of the Conservative platform – elimination of capital gains tax providing proceeds are reinvested within six months – and speculated the Tories will need a special bureaucracy like the gun registry to administer the exemption and prevent abuses.

Media speculation is also dealing with whether the Speech from the Throne will be in March, when the budget will be, whether Frank McKenna will be recalled from his ambassador’s post in Washington, and how the civil service, including Privy Council Clerk Alex Himelfarb, will adjust to Conservative rule.

In the past, victorious Opposition parties have waited as long as five months before Parliament resumes. This time the Tories will have to hit the ground running, which may explain why over the weekend Harper himself named who will be the lead minister from Quebec in his new cabinet. So much for cabinet secrecy.

Lawrence Cannon, a former Quebec provincial minister, is favoured to win the west Quebec riding of Pontiac for the Tories.

Part of this apparent haste can be attributed to the timing of a Christmas election, no doubt. In addition, the fact that economic issues were not even discussed until late in this campaign will account for some of the intense scrutiny of the Tories’ numbers and economic policy.

But this campaign will be remembered for the aggressive role played by the media in ushering in a new government.

Much has been made of the fact that Harper has made amends with the media. He better have because such an aroused media will be like having an 800-pound gorilla at the end of the cabinet table.