Barack Obama went to Germany – Europe’s economic and, thus, probably, political center – for a farewell-as-president meeting last week, underlining the importance of the relationship with Chancellor Angela Merkel and, particularly, their personal rapport. With Obama’s imminent disappearance from the world stage, the transition to a Donald Trump administration is creating international disquiet.

Merkel is the most solidly based politically of the leaders of the most powerful Western European countries. She’s been chancellor since 2005, and her decision to run again in 2017 means it is likely that she will again stay on top of the complex, multi-party scene that German politics constitutes.

Merkel got along smoothly with Obama, but she is also easily enough of a pragmatist to work effectively with Trump where she sees American and German interests coinciding. She also had close ties to Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush.

The principles that she as chancellor stands for include some that Trump did not advocate as a candidate. These include efforts to combat climate change, opposition to Russian designs on Ukraine, support of a strong NATO, and economic reform and free trade, including international agreements. Merkel also has pursued a German policy of welcoming immigrants, some 1 million in 2015. She would agree with Trump on strong economies with lots of job creation and firm opposition to Islamic State encroachment.

The American president-elect should not imagine that he and America can get along in the world without good relations with Germany and its chancellor. Neither Bush nor Obama thought so. Ukraine and Russia won’t do it.