One can never be sure about the games the government are playing. But it does seem possible that Johnson and Cummings are aiming to ignite a prolonged clash with the EU which will drown out the failure of Brexit in a torrent of nationalist hysteria.

Consider the scenario in which the government dares the Irish Republic and the EU to put up a hard border in Ireland. The EU has to do so to meet WTO rules and protect its internal market. But it for obvious reasons it won't want to do that. (cont'd...)

So on obvious response would be for the EU to seek to force the UK to respect the WA by taking legal action and imposing sanctions. This could lead to a very long and bitter dispute, which would be perfect for whipping up jingoistic hysteria against Brussels.

The economy would be ruined, but for Johnson and Cummings that wouldn't matter, the whole thing could be blamed on Brussels. The UK would be portrayed as divided between patriots backing Britain and traitors supporting Brussels.

Johnson could even stage a snap election framed as patriots vs traitors. With or without an election a wartime mentality could be whipped up, which the government would use to gain a whole new set of emergency powers.