At times he has even mustered a dry wit when being pressed about decisions he has had to take with huge sums of taxpayers’ cash. 

Yesterday, when asked to “speculate” on how long the taxpayer would be a major shareholder in banks, he wryly observed that too much speculation was what had landed us in a pickle in the first place.

A year ago, when Labour was expected to call and win a general election, it was Tory leader David Cameron who showed his mettle and emerged strengthened. The unlikely winner of the even greater political tumult of this autumn  is Alistair Maclean Darling, the courteous and softly-spoken son of a civil engineer.

Where highly-paid bankers have exuded complacency and their assurances of the financial health of their institutions have been proven wrong, Darling has exhibited a calm authority.

Under enormous pressure to offer banks blank cheques on the one hand or to wage a populist war on the entire financial sector on the other, he has done neither.

Instead he has worked around the clock to formulate a robust plan which will both shore up the financial system and give taxpayers the prospect of getting their money back in due course.

 If he can use his greater political capital to create the elbow room that previous Chancellors have enjoyed at the Cabinet table, then he could have a major influence on the outcome of the next election.

Ken Clarke once warned John Major to “tell your kids to get their scooters off my lawn” during a dispute over Euro­pe, while Brown jealously guarded his pre-eminence over economic policy against Tony Blair.

Had Blair created and then decided to chair a “National Economic Council”, as Brown did last week, then he would have erupted. Darling has, typically, taken it in his stride.

But now he has a decision to make. Does he enjoy his moment in the sun, then tamely accept a return to the ranks of Cabinet also-rans? Or does he stand up to Brown and take command of economic policy?

If he decides on the latter then Cameron and Shadow Chancellor George Osborne have a problem on their hands.

Over the past year they have successfully pinned many economic problems on Brown: the huge budget deficit, the punitive taxation of low-paid workers and excessive personal debt.

While Darling was seen as simply Brown’s creature, he could not influence the outcome of this debate. But if the Chancellor starts standing up to Brown and – whisper it – actually changing failed policies then voters might just start to reassess the Government.

The key moment for Darling will come when he presents the pre-Budget Report, expected late next month. On the face of it, this will be another formidable hurdle. Growth projections will have to be drastically downgraded, while the Govern­ment’s borrowing requirement will be revised sharply upwards.

But how Darling conveys the message will be key. Brown will want him to carry on the pretence that the “fiscal rules” which limit borrowing remain intact. Nobody else believes that, so Darling should admit they have been breached and plead extraordinary times.

He should also admit that more needs to be done to deliver value for money from public services and pledge to be the man to see that mission through.

Throughout his career, Darling has specialised in taking over failing departments and keeping them out of the news. He became Social Security Secretary in place of Harriet Harman after she fell out with welfare reform minister Frank Field. He took charge of the Department of Transport after it collapsed under the erratic stewardship of Stephen Byers.

Arriving at the Trea­sury was supposed to have been very different. In fact Darling inherited another basket case.
Now he has learned that it is impossible to keep the Treasury out of  the news when the economy is on the slide.

The big question for the political year ahead is whether he has the ability to steer Britain out of recession and back towards more prosperous times.