I must admit that I find British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s senior adviser, Dominic Cummings, rather scary. I also believe that an unelected person shouldn’t have the power he appears to have; afterall be helped prompt the resignation of Sajid Javid as finance minister.
Cummings, who mastermided the Vote Leave campaign during the European Union referendum, appears to be in control; infact one British publication joked that he was the real Prime Minister and Johnson was his deputy! He is on a mission to cut spending in Whitehall. All government departments have been told to slice their budget by five percent on his orders. Now, there is something rather unsavoury about an unelected official having so much power over elected officials.
Cummings faced criticism after he had advertised for “weirdos and misfits with odd skills” to help bring new ideas to Britain’s government. Earlier this week he hit back at “political pundits” who had questioned the appointment of an aide forced to resign over racist remarks. When asked whether he regretted the hiring of a self-styled “superforecaster” Andrew Sabisky, Dominic Cummings told reporters: “Read Philip Tetlock’s Superforecasting instead of political pundits who don’t know what they are talking about.”
Betting odds indicate a 25% implied probability of Cummings leaving Downing Street by the end of March. Perhaps, it might be for the best. Cummings is a controversial figure but is he just too controversial? Time will tell but at the moment he is in the news for the wrong reasons which is never good whatever role you have.