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DERMOT MURNAGHAN: Well now, the world took a sigh of relief last week as US politicians agreed a deal to end the government shut down there and lift its debt ceiling. The crisis, it was claimed, could have bought the world economy to its knees but could the threat return again in the New Year? Well I am joined now by the new US Ambassador to the UK,

Matthew Barzun. A very good morning to you, Mr Ambassador, thank you very much indeed for joining us on the Murnaghan show and I want to ask you of course about the events of the last few weeks in the United States. You said earlier that it was not your finest hour, that is something of an understatement isn’t it? It was nearly a disaster.

MATTHEW BARZUN: It was bad and I was trying to put it diplomatically by saying that it was not our finest hour. I think the President himself put it clearly and bluntly, he said we had two things going on, right, we had the shut down for seventeen days and then the brinksmanship right up to the debt ceiling and he said it did three things: it encouraged our enemies, it emboldened our competitors and it depressed our friends. Pause and reflect on that but then look forward and as the President says, that is not how American democracy ought to work, it’s not how it’s worked in the past and let’s not let it be our future, let’s get to work and the bright part of it, despite all of that, is that in the eleventh hour, the Democrats and the Republicans did come together to do the right thing, to pay our bills and so now I’m focused on getting back to work here and engaged.

DM: But the question is, you said let’s look to the future as the President said, and we are looking to the future, we are looking just into the New Year when it could all happen again. Has the bad blood, has that all be sorted out, have the heads been knocked together and the politicians really feel this mustn’t happen again?

MATTHEW BARZAN: Dermot, I hope so, I hope so and certainly that’s what the President is calling for and we need to build on the eleventh hour coming together to move forward and to debate the budget and hopefully we’ll see Congress coming together in mid-December to focus on how we can get growth and jobs in the short term and then get our fiscal house in order for the long term.

DM: But what’s your sense of the politicians on Capitol Hill, do they understand the unique position that America holds in the world economy, that this seemed, as we looked upon it from the outside world, this seemed to be fundamentally hinging on issues of domestic policy, healthcare and other issues but main healthcare, and yet the effect could have tipped, as I said in my introduction, could have tipped the entire world economy into recession. Are they aware of their international responsibilities?

MATTHEW BARZUN: Yes, certainly the President is and I think you saw a majority of people in Congress realise that. We do have great global responsibilities as you mentioned, we have great global opportunities. I mean one thing that got temporarily effected was the big trade deal between the United States and the European Union. The second round of talks were supposed to be in Brussels as you know, those got postponed but they are back on track now so we’ve got lots of work together internationally and that’s the work we’re planning to do.

DM: Tell me, I mean you are relatively new in post here, aren’t you, just about seven weeks here in London, tell me more about your priorities vis a vis this relationship between the United States and the UK especially through the prism of Europe, incredibly important to the UK and indeed to the United States. How do you view the on-going debate here in the United Kingdom about its relationship and its very future within the European Union?

MATTHEW BARZUN: Sure. On the second part first, the UK and the EU, I think it is important to say right at the beginning that the UK’s relationship within Europe is completely up to the UK, period, pause. Now, when the United States is asked what our closest ally, what we think about this decision, we are clear and we say we really value a strong UK and a strong EU because Europe, as you know, is the first place the United States turns to make the world more prosperous, more peaceful, more just so we see eye to eye with the UK on the full range of topics that we work on together and so that’s our personal opinion, when asked as a close friend what we think.

DM: There are huge tectonic plates moving in the UK about its relationship with so many countries and another country just north of the border, still in the United Kingdom, you’re still ambassador to it and I’m thinking about this Scottish independence debate. I know you will regard that from the United States as an internal matter but nevertheless, coming from a country which has made great progress and huge wealth out of being a federal country, a federation, what would your sense be of a small country like our own seeing a major part of it splitting away?

MATTHEW BARZUN: Well, as you said, we do have a clear policy about that issue which is we don’t have a policy but more seriously, it is an internal matter and I don't think it’s appropriate for me to get into speculations about the future. I’m heading up to Edinburgh a week from tomorrow and we’ve got a Consulate up there, we’ve got incredible cultural ties to that part of the world, business ties, over a thousand businesses doing business there so it’s something I’m focused on as part of my job and am really looking forward to doing.

DM: I suppose if you put them all together, the European question and the Scottish question, it is an incredibly important posting as we know, we know how excited you were to get the posting to London. Is it diminished in America now, things are falling apart with Europe and things split up within the UK?

MATTHEW BARZUN: I mean I wouldn’t put … It is, and thank you for mentioning it, I love this work and this job here representing my country and my President here in the UK is an honour of a lifetime. So smart British friends and American friends said, hey, when you get over there, don’t use the term ‘special relationship’, it’s over used and I respectfully disagree. I love that phrase, coined of course by Winston Churchill but it is a special relationship and I get to see that every day. Before I came on with you, with some of your guests looking through all the newspapers, you look at the newspapers every day waking up in the UK and all the topics covered of humanitarian issues, economic issues happening around the world, the UK is engaged in those issues and so is the United States and in almost every case we’ve working together on it.

DM: Well I’m glad you raised it, the special relationship, still alive and well and thriving. Mr Ambassador, thank you very much indeed for joining us here on the show today, Matthew Barzun.

MATTHEW BARZUN: Thank you so much.