Then you're using a much better algorithm than Microsoft.
...
Certain programming languages allow you to create faster executables than others. Fact.
Certain programming languages allow you to write more efficient algorithms, more efficiently, than others. Python may be an interpreted language, but its power stems from the fact that it accepts this and makes use of every ounce of power that can be gained from not being pre-compiled. (Something which Satan -- err, PHP, cannot seem to grasp, judging by its completely bloated muck of a core library).
Python is a great language for fast algorithms because of what it can do really easily, in a tidy way, without being a confused mess. For example, it does lists and maps (generally with hash tables), out of the box, as a part of syntax. Those are key elements in a lot of algorithms, so having them knit so tightly with the rest of the language is very powerful!
I disagree with the notion that any decent language can be rated on how fast its executables are. Python is definitely slower at figuring out to add 1+1, but that is, ultimately, insignificant. It isn't a scripting language just because Guido woke up one morning and thought "I am going to make a bloated waste of time!"; it is a scripting language because that is the best way for Python to fulfill its very unique objectives.
(PHP, on the other hand...)