Beware the media soothsayers

Nick Cohen in The Observer puts his finger on something on  something that’s been nagging me about the reaction of a large chunk of the commentariat to Ed Miliband’s victory:

“I would therefore be a little wary about believing the cocksure forecasts from clairvoyant commentators that ‘Ed Miliband will never be prime minister’ and remind you that prediction is the most dishonest form of journalism. The soothsayers have no idea who the next prime minister will be. What they mean is that in their opinion Ed Miliband should never be prime minister. But instead of arguing honestly with their readers, conservatives dress up their desires as prophecies and pretend that they can see the future.”

Quite. Ed Miliband might well prove a disaster. But that depends on how he does in the job. It wasn’t so long ago that the right was pouring scorn on Nick Clegg. Now he’s their darling. The conservative conventional wisdom is often wrong.

Picture: Prolix, from Asterix and the Soothsayer

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