How many people missed this item in the story:  "On a recent trip to Berlin [in november], outgoing U.S. President Barack Obama hailed the German Chancellor as his “closest international partner,”

Too bad about Justin Trudeau's special relationship with Obama [see news from the month of june].   

Meanwhile the British are upset.  They thought they were Obama's "closest international partner".
From the Telegraph news website in the U.K. - "President Barack Obama has issued a parting snub to the special relationship by naming Angela Merkel of Germany as his closest international partner of the last eight years."