Dominic Cummings, Johnson's counselor and populist glory maker

Al Jazeera Net - London

He is a genius ... This is how British Prime Minister Boris Johnson described his strategic advisor Dominic Cummings to several senior British officials at a ceremony held at the end of last year.

Not surprisingly, many praised Johnson for his adviser, who contributed greatly to his accession to the prime minister, using media and propaganda strategies launched from the populist school that is sweeping the world.

This consultant, who has increased influence in the halls of British decision-making, increased the spotlight after Treasury Secretary Sajid Javed suddenly resigned from his post in protest against the dismissal of his adviser without his knowledge and humiliating expulsion from it.

The resignation caused a stir in Britain, given that Javed was considered one of the hawks in the camp in support of Britain's exit from the European Union, and he was considered the second most powerful man in the government after Johnson, before the finger of accusation in this resignation referred to Cummings.

Several British sources said that Johnson's counselor summoned Javid's advisor to the Prime Minister’s headquarters and asked her to hand over her phone, then asked a policeman to accompany her out of the government headquarters and expel her, on the pretext that she was communicating with former Treasury Secretary Philip Hammond, who is an opponent of the idea of ​​Britain’s exit from the European Union without an agreement.

And the origin of the dispute between Javed and Dominic is due to the divergent views on the country's economic policy after the Brexit, where Javed was planning to end the state of austerity in the country years ago, while Dominic rejects this idea.

Inflated influence
The ability of Johnson's counselor to overthrow the most powerful minister in the government raised concerns about his growing influence and the extent of his influence on Johnson's decisions, especially since Cummings was the architect of the unprecedented decision that Johnson made last year to disrupt the work of Parliament for three weeks, which was described at the time a coup that was rejected by the British Supreme Court .

This situation made many resemble Cummings by Thomas Cromwell the famous figure in British history who was behind the separation of King Henry from the church, especially since Dominic was the godfather of the United Kingdom's secession from the European Union and led the campaign advocating its exit from the European Union by using the slogan "regain control" from the grip Al-Ittihad, and succeeded in showing Johnson as the star of the Brisket campaign.

During the recent elections that gave Johnson an overwhelming majority, Dominic was the campaign manager with the slogan "Let him brix", and after Johnson's accession to the premiership, Dominique became the owner of the solution and the contract in many suspicious files in a suspicious manner that prompted two of Johnson's advisers to resign in protest against the behavior of their colleague who He has previously stated that "working in the prime minister's office requires weirdo people."

Johnson's adherence to his adviser, despite all the criticism directed against him, is due to the success of the propaganda strategies of Cummings in giving Johnson what he wants, and in directing public opinion and tipping the favor in his favor despite the mounting warnings of his actions to the extent that Sir John Major, the former British Prime Minister and a senior Conservative leader described Dominic as " A messy poisoning political life. "

Nevertheless, Cummings goes on with his controversial policies without blame for criticism, presenting himself as a rebel against traditional institutions, which made the British media unanimously describe him as "Steve Bannon Britain" given the similarity between the two men and their populist right-wing ideas.

Media enemy
Wherever Cummings resolved his controversy since he worked as an adviser to the British Minister of Education in 2011 and was involved in many of the actions that led to his dismissal in the end, and whoever believed that Johnson was a controversial figure then he only needs to follow the actions of his senior adviser who wants to reproduce the experience of US President Donald Trump in Britain .

This trend was evident in the apparent hostility between it and the British media, which culminated when the Prime Minister decided to select the press institutions that will attend an official briefing on the Brexit file and the boycott of other institutions, which prompted all journalists to withdraw and boycott the symposium, due to what they considered the application of the Trump guide in dealing With the media by boycotting some newspapers and attacking others.

The finger pointed the finger at this incident to Johnson's unfriendly advisor to the media. After declaring Johnson's victory in the elections, he made statements that made fun of the media institutions, and considered that they live far from the pulse of the street and what the British citizen wants.

Despite his preference for working in the shadows and behind closed doors, the history of Johnson's counselor provides some features about his view of Muslims, as he published in 2006 in the newspaper "Do Spectator" the controversial cartoon, which mocked the Messenger Muhammad, peace be upon him, with comments that adopt The theory of "Islamic danger" in Europe, before deleting it due to the many criticisms.

And many expect that the resignations in the British government will continue to bleed if Johnson continues to give his adviser full powers to deal with government officials, whatever their ranks.