Germany didn't get to this point overnight, however — in ways, the roots of the current crisis even predate the pandemic.
The government took on emergency debt to try to stem the impact the pandemic had on its budget through a temporary debt brake suspension.
And so, the current coalition government decided to re-allocate it to finance policies aimed at climate change and a greener, more sustainable economy.
Some observers (and several Green party members), have suggested that the climate crisis is as much of an emergency as the pandemic.
But the court's ruling stands, and Germany's budget now has a 60-billion-euro ($65 billion) hole.
Persons:
Olaf Scholz, Christian Lindner, Robert Habeck, Sean Gallup, Germany didn't, fumbling, Jan Techau, Mujtaba Rahman, Jens Larsen
Organizations:
Finance, Getty, Greens, Free Democratic Party, Eurasia Group
Locations:
Berlin, Germany