‘Capacity to surprise’: Arthur Sinodinos ‘optimistic’ about American democracy

Outgoing Ambassador to the United States Arthur Sinodinos has hailed the US as vibrant and dynamic, saying “bad things happen” when the nation is not engaged in the world.

Mr Sinodinos said he is more optimistic about the US now compared to when he arrived.

“The last midterm elections, those results were not quite what people expected, and it showed never just extrapolate from current trends, this place always has a capacity to surprise,” he told Sky News Australia.

“So when people worry about what’s going to happen to American democracy, I’m actually more optimistic about that than a lot of other people.”