It is just what he wanted. And it is just what he needs. If David Cameron stands any chance of serious political redemption, then this is it, a return to front-line politics in a job which will play to his strengths of persuasion, charm and compromise.
At least it rescues him from a lifetime of Chinese consultancy. Many will never forgive him for the almost offhand way he steered Britain into an unnecessary Brexit cul-de-sac, and the ramifications of his mistake continue to cast a pall over the country. And yet there appears to be a second act for our beleaguered former prime minister, and on a broader scale an opportunity for him to try to recast the last 13 years of Tory rule.
