German-American relations suffered badly during the presidential years of the alliance contemptor Trump.
Trump beat Germany and its leadership in a way that he had never done with any authoritarian regime or dictator.
The ratio was judged accordingly bad.
Joe Biden has been in office for a good ten months now, and the transatlantic relationship is experiencing a spectacular recovery: more than two-thirds consider it good or even very good.
Pretty good partners!
Doubts about America's reliability do not worry many Germans nearly as much as had been suspected after the fall of Kabul.
What do you do with the new appreciation?
Of course there are issues that are still controversial.
But it is precisely in the bilateral relationship that the Biden government has made advance payments: To the annoyance of many in Congress, it has cleared Nord Stream 2 - Berlin, state governments and parts of the German economy have got their way.
Commercial frictions have been defused.
Washington is campaigning for Germany, but also expects committed action from the new coalition, not free-riding.
Biden knows the ambivalences of Germans.
But they should know where they stand in the major conflict with China.
And what their responsibility lies in NATO.