The open war between Boris Johnson and his former strategist
Dominic Cummings
threatens to reopen the box of thunder within the
Tories
, just as the
premier was
enjoying his best moment of popularity of the last year thanks to the "impulse" of vaccines (seven points vet over Labor
Keir Starmer
, 43% to 36%, in the latest polls).
Cummings, the true architect of Brexit, walked out the back door of Downing Street in November and has now questioned "the competence and integrity" of the Conservative leader.
On his own blog, Johnson's former adviser accuses his former boss of acting
"in a crazy and totally immoral way"
and even calls for the urgent opening of a parliamentary investigation into the government's actions during the pandemic.
The
premier
has avoided being personally involved in the brawl, although a Downing Street spokesman had to defend him on Friday night from the Cummings accusations, alleging that his government has acted
"in accordance with the codes of conduct
and on the advice of the Office. of the Cabinet ".
A minister of his own government, who preferred not to identify himself, told the BBC that Cummings' revenge is due to the fact that he is
"frustrated and discredited"
after his forced resignation last fall, after four years of close alliance with Johnson, from the Vote Leave campaign upon arrival in Downing Street.
The origin of the dispute between the two old allies has been the publication in the media of the text messages between Boris Johnson and billionaire
James Dyson
, the king of vacuum cleaners.
In the messages, the
premier
promised to achieve tax exemptions for his workers in the manufacture of
10,000 respirators during the Covid crisis.
Downing Street Communications Chief
Jack Doyle
pointed directly to Cummings as the possible perpetrator of the leak to the press. The former strategist denied the accusations and counterattacked, airing the concern that has existed for months about the existence of a "snitch" within the prime minister's environment. Cummings has hinted that the origin of the leaks may have been adviser
Henry Newman
, a friend of Johnson's girlfriend,
Carrie Symonds
, indirectly implicated in the controversy.
"It is sad to see how the prime minister's office has fallen far below the standards of competence and integrity that the country deserves," wrote on his blog Dominic Cummings, who
has personally offered to testify in the
open
investigation
to identify the author. from the last leak.
Cummings had remained silent to date following his forced resignation last November, months after the controversy sparked by his 300-kilometer trip to Durham during lockdown that sapped Boris Johnson's credibility and popularity.
His resignation was also precipitated by his
personal confrontation with Carrie Symonds
and by pressure from the moderate sector of the Conservative Party.
In a personal revenge against Symonds,
Cummings now highlights the shadow role of Johnson's girlfriend in
trying to finance the renovation of the Downing Street interior (65,000 euros) with money secretly donated by party donors.
"I told him that I could not help him organize those payments," said Cummings, calling the move "possibly illegal."
Their direct attack has served to rekindle the internal war within the
Tories
.
Former attorney general
Dominic Grieve
, "purged" from the party for his opposition to Brexit, has criticized the Johnson government's "integrity vacuum" and accused it of
turning Downing Street into "a clique of cronies."
The scandal of former Prime Minister
David Cameron
-for his efforts before the Johnson Government to try a favorable deal for the financier
Lex Greensill
during the Covid crisis- has these days set the backdrop to the new "soap opera" of the
Tories
that threatens to be prolonged like a soap opera in full disarray.
Johnson has meanwhile been left without his chief strategy officer and special envoy to the Persian Gulf,
Lord Eddie Lister
, who announced his resignation on Friday.
It is unknown if his departure from the Government is linked to the controversy of recent days.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
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