Germany topples giant ‘Zero’ monument symbolizing fiscal prudence as new government embraces debt

Friedrich Merz, leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), at a general election campaign rally in Dresden, Germany, on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. Merz, whose CDU/CSU coalition is leading polls by double digits, upended the election campaign Wednesday by accepting votes from the nationalist Alternative for Germany to pass a hard-line migration resolution through parliament. (Credit: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Long before U.S. bank chiefs like Jamie Dimon were warning about the consequences of a debt-related cliff edge, the famously prudent German government was erecting statues showing their commitment to a balanced budget.

But all things must pass. The same goes for Germany’s ironclad fiscal blockade and the big black zero that was its mascot.