Boris Johnson is a one-man metaphor for this whole crisis

The metaphor he deployed was suitably muscular, and he meant it. At the height of Boris Johnson’s illness he certainly looked as if he had been mugged. However, what Covid-19 has really done is turn the Prime Minister himself into a one-man metaphor for the whole crisis.

Did he, did we, leave things too late? Did he, did we, underestimate the danger? When he thought he could shake it off by lying low for a few days, many still thought that Britain could likewise do the same. The moment he was rushed to intensive care was extremely sobering, a sign of just how serious things had become. Now that he’s back it’s difficult not to feel a corresponding surge of optimism about the prospects of the UK emerging largely intact from all this. Are we justified in drawing such parallels? Time will tell, but we do know the PM’S instincts are liberal, his patience short, his ambition for the UK vast and his support for wealth creators close to absolute.

Had Theresa May been in charge and caught the virus last month, I suspect many of us would have abandoned all hope. Yes we’d have felt sorry for her, but we’d have also felt sorry for ourselves, assuming there’d be endless months of agonising before any Covid counter attack.

David Cameron would have articulated the tension between saving lives and livelihoods very well, but would have struggled to make a bold call and been personally embarrassed to catch the virus – as if it was somehow a weakness, like getting stuck on a zipwire.

As for Jeremy Corbyn, the idea of him confining us to our homes, ordering businesses to close and effectively nationalising large chunks of the economy would have been terrifying.

Catching the virus has allowed Boris Johnson to speak with credibility and compassion about its implications, and countered the idea that he can be crass, careless or cavalier. His return to No 10 has undoubtedly restored a sense of purpose, energy and focus.

And yet yesterday morning he urged us all to be patient, warning against moving on too soon, lifting the lockdown and prompting a “second spike”.

So has he changed? Some fear that the Prime Minister may have been so humbled by his near death experience that he will be too cautious a character going forward. I’ve heard critics say he’s been taught a valuable lesson which they hope will make him more timid. I doubt that very much – but the perception could prove useful.

What he has now is a tiny bit of breathing space. Plans to modify restrictions and start easing the lockdown will swiftly gather pace, and his horror at the excessive zeal with which some councils and coppers are applying the lockdown will be as instinctive and strong as any. If his reputation is now that of a leader likely to be unduly cautious, it will ultimately be easier for him to push the limits when it comes to lifting lockdown.

Many conflicts have taught us that tough generals who have battered an enemy usually have a greater chance of persuading an anxious public to sue for peace.

A bruised PM sounding hesitant after a spell in hospital will be better placed to make a bold move to save the economy than the carefree leader shaking hands too liberally as the crisis kicked off.

Guto Harri is a former director of communications for Boris Johnson