Insubstantial political opinion pieces

One of the strangest aspects of news publications is the ongoing publication of opinion pieces, such as the recent piece by Peter Hartcher (Babushka politics tough to crack) in the Sydney Morning Herald giving predictions as to which major party will win the upcoming federal election and why.

The outstanding feature of these opinion pieces, apart from their overriding reliance on the author’s gut feel, is that they contain little substantial analysis. Maybe they are published to get reactions from readers.