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Never in the field of human contagion has so much been expected by so many of one man. And yet he did not disappoint. Boris Johnson’s speech today, marking his return to Downing Street, must

rank among his best. He caught the national mood, spoke simultaneously both to the fears of the people and the frustrations of business, while driving home his message: “This is the moment

of maximum risk.” His words combined candour and courage. For the first time in his life, he has been close to death — and it shows. Whatever else he may achieve in office, this may prove to

be his finest hour. Boris Johnson may enjoy being back in the harness, but the burdens of office have rarely weighed so heavily on a Prime Minister. Running the country while still

suffering the after-effects of coronavirus would be hard enough in normal times; but what is required now is a truly exceptional quality of leadership. None of his recent predecessors had to

rise to a challenge quite like this. For that reason alone, it is doubtful that Johnson will take up Alastair Campbell’s proposal here in TheArticle, to summon all five living former Prime

Ministers as a kind of consultative committee. They may or may not be four wise men and one wise woman, but the decisions that must now be taken cannot be delegated; the responsibility must

be the PM’s alone. It is always lonely at the top, but never more so than now. The Government has hitherto been united behind the Prime Minister’s decision at the outset of the pandemic to

“follow the science”. But the scientists are not unanimous. One of his key scientific advisers, Professor Neil Ferguson of Imperial College, London, has given an interview to UnHerd in which

he warns that even if social distancing is preserved for the over-70s and other vulnerable groups, lifting the lockdown soon could bring the death toll to 100,000 by the end of the year.

Another forecast, by the University of Washington, Seattle, predicts that even if the lockdown continues, Covid-19 deaths may have risen to 60,000 by August, although the median estimate is

37,000. If the Government sticks with the Imperial team’s predictions, more economic pain is in prospect. But if the calculation is that excess mortality due to other causes is beginning to

outweigh the pandemic, then the PM may decide to speed up the exit from the lockdown. If a lot of people will die either way, the option that enables the economy to revive fastest becomes

more attractive. To say that this is an unenviable choice would be an understatement. And this is before one even considers the shift in work habits and attitudes that has taken place among

the British people. Many have found working from home to be preferable to the daily commute. If office politics is not to your taste, why work in an office? In Germany, the lockdown has

already prompted calls to place the right to work at home on a statutory basis. Many, too, have rediscovered the value of leisure. The work-life balance has tipped sharply towards life.

Despite this, most people are desperate to get back to work. Some are broke, others simply bored. The birthrate may rise, but so may divorce. The economy shutting down will certainly make us

poorer, but will it also make us more aware of what we can live without. The jury is still out on whether the lockdown has been an ordeal or a learning curve. Another effect of the lockdown

has been to raise environmental expectations. Cleaner air and quieter streets have enabled us to appreciate what has been lost in recent decades. Covid-19 itself appears to have been

spawned by the abuse of wild animals in China. Whatever the “new normal” may look like, it should incorporate a better equilibrium between humanity and nature. Only a thriving economy can

deliver a more benign environment. But the imperative of rebalancing our priorities can no longer be ignored. Like Odysseus, Boris Johnson must steer a course between Scylla and Charybdis:

between a rapid lifting of the lockdown, which risks a second wave of Covid-19, and delaying it much longer, which risks ruining the economy for years to come. Influential voices in business

and politics are urging him to be bold, but public opinion is inclined to be cautious.   The Prime Minister reflected that caution in his speech, while reassuring the captains of industry

that he hears them. He has not forgotten that Britain is still a nation of shopkeepers. His confidence that our entrepreneurial spirit can overcome every obstacle will not be shared by all,

but it is the right note to strike at a time when prophecies of doom find echoes in the public square. His instinct has always been to prefer an end with horror to a horror without end. This

time, however, he is imploring the nation to be patient for just a little longer. Is that too much to ask? Above all, he cast the British people in a heroic light. Confronted by a united

and unconquerable country, the unseen enemy will be scattered. The Churchillian ability to enlist history on his side is also a Johnsonian gift. His speech succeeded in steadying our nerve,

while keeping his options open. That is the mark of a master rhetorician. The test of his statesmanship, however, has yet to come.