Britain’s Comeback Kid

Don ' t you think that will be hard to achieve?
I think it is possible in exactly the way that people showed vision in the 1940s to create a new system. We've got to show the same vision.

What needs to be done quickly?
The quick order is: helping the resumption of lending, stimulating world trade so that we avoid protectionism, looking at reforms of the international financial system like disclosure and transparency, ending off-balance-sheet activities that are not transparent and dealing with what some people call the shadow banking system.

How deep do you think the recession will be in your country?
I wouldn't make a forecast at the moment. I think the important thing is that we show a degree of international coordination that can give people confidence that we can come through this.

How big is the gulf between the United States and the United Kingdom at present?
We are working very well with the U.S. administration. President Bush has shown leadership in organizing this conference on Nov. 15. Obviously the administration's plan to deal with toxic assets and to recapitalize the banks is not too dissimilar from what every country in Europe is doing.

Some people give you credit for that.
We were perhaps the first country to do these things.

Has this transformed your political future and maybe your party ' s?
Politics is full of ups and downs. I think the important thing in this is … showing that we can actually deal with a real problem and take our country through it. And it is important that we persuade other countries that there is action we can all take together.

Don ' t you think that Europe and the United Kingdom are more pro-regulation than the United States?
I don't see it in this context. America had the Sarbanes-Oxley [Act], which is perhaps more interventionist than anything we had in London. Where there are problems, you've got to be tough as a supervisor. Where there are companies that have always operated by the book, you can have your lighter-touch regulation.

Would you compare what is happening to the United States to the period when Great Britain ' s influence eroded? Do you think America will ever be again what it was?
America is an incredibly resilient country. You've got tremendous strengths. You've got great entrepreneurs and some great companies. America will always be a very strong country. I think the resilience that will be shown in the next period of time will just demonstrate America's great power and standing in the world.

© 2008