The question now is not can we trust boris, but can we trust ourselves? | thearticle

A gaunt Boris Johnson, now convalescing at Chequers, spoke for a grateful nation when he paid tribute to his doctors, and especially his nurses, in language more emotional than that of any

previous Prime Minister: “We will win because our NHS is the beating heart of this country. It is the best of this country. It is unconquerable. It is powered by love.” Sentimental, perhaps;

sincere, certainly. Even as he spoke, however, the death toll from coronavirus was passing the 10,000 mark — and this figure does not include the rapidly rising number who are dying in the

11,300 care and nursing homes where more than 400,000 of our oldest and most vulnerable people live. The NHS has just endured its most gruelling week since it was founded in 1948, without

being overwhelmed — but the upward curve has not yet flattened and it is too soon to say that Britain is over the worst.   The fact that more than two thousand intensive care beds are still

available does not mean that the Cabinet can lift the lockdown later this week. In a population of 67 million that slender headroom is no more an indication of spare capacity than a couple

of seats in a lifeboat on a liner with several thousand passengers would be.   Within the Cabinet, there is tension between “hawks”, who want the lockdown lifted as soon as possible, and

“doves”, who are more cautious. The hawks emphasise the damage to the economy, to education and to society of any delay in relaxing most restrictions beyond the bank holiday on May 8. The

doves warn that this would be premature and regard the Spring bank holiday on May 25 as the earliest date for a carefully phased lifting of the lockdown to begin. Hawks see a return to

normality as an urgent necessity if catastrophic and permanent economic and societal damage is to be avoided. Doves fear a return of the pandemic and insist that social distancing rules must

remain in force long after the curve flattens. In normal circumstances, the balance between these two factions would be preserved by the Prime Minister. But these are anything but normal

circumstances. The _primus inter pares _has only just emerged from the shadow of death. He is not, even remotely, ready to chair Cabinet meetings. On the evidence of his video statement,

however, he remains an undiminished force. The answer to the_ Guardian’s _question (“Will this brush with mortality change his attitudes?”) is as obvious as it is unprintable. Boris is still

Boris, cheerful and unchastened. During his week in St Thomas’s, including three nights in intensive care, “things could have gone either way”, he admitted. Details of his treatment have

not been disclosed, but anecdotal evidence suggests that while the PM was never on a ventilator, he may have been given oxygen using a CPAP (continuous postive airway pressure) machine. He

was certainly very seriously ill. Any suggestion to the contrary — for example, the tweet by Christopher Lockwood, Europe Editor of the_ Economist, _that there was “something incredibly

fishy about the whole business” — is a conspiracy theory of the most disreputable kind. He has since deleted the tweet and apologised. What we do not yet know is where the Prime Minister

stands on the crucial question of when to lift the lockdown. Before he went into hospital, he was seen as the most hawkish member of the Cabinet — a “golden eagle”. He had been criticised

for imposing it too late and was known to favour lifting it as early as possible. Is that still his position? It is clear that Dominic Raab, his deputy, still defers to the man who elevated

him so recently. The same is true of other senior ministers, among whom the hawks are led by Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, while the chief dove is of course Matt Hancock, the Health

Secretary. Michael Gove, the only figure who rivals Boris Johnson in experience, is firmly, indeed ostentatiously, loyal to his former rival. There seems no doubt that at this week’s

meeting, with the PM still _hors de combat, _the doves will hold the line. The lockdown will remain in place until further notice. But if the peak has clearly been reached and public

compliance continues, pressure to allow limited relaxation will grow irresistible in the coming weeks. As he reminded us over Easter, Johnson is the supreme master of the interpretation and

articulation of the public mood. He knows that people need light at the end of the tunnel. What form might it take? A return to school for some, if not all, children could happen already

next month at minimal risk to their health. Such a move would require sensitive presentation. In Denmark, where such a policy has been mooted, there has been a backlash from protective

parents who don’t want their children used as guinea pigs. Care is also needed lest children infect their parents. Boris Johnson has been mocked in _The Guardian_ for speaking about the

inalienable right of the British to go to the pub. Yet in Sweden bars and restaurants have been exempted from closure, though not from social distancing. A limited reopening of pubs, cafés

and restaurants here would be a huge morale booster, if it could be managed without squandering the gains made so far by keeping people at home. Some shops and other businesses might also

reopen if staff and customers alike obey the guidelines.   The British invented the notion of “fair play”. We are the nation that codified the rules of many of the world’s sports. Now our

lives and our livelihoods depend on our willingness to abide by rules that only we can enforce. It is a blessing that Boris, now our team captain and referee rolled into one, does at least

know what it is like to have coronavirus be in mortal danger. We can trust this Prime Minister not to risk our lives unnecessarily. The question that faces not only the Government, but the

whole country, is: can we trust ourselves to play by our own rules?