ABSTRACT
Elections matter in a parliamentary democracy and every element of politics leads one to expect systematic differences in the spending patterns and policy priorities of governments sharing different political ideologies (Cusack 1999). The French Fifth Republic was of course dominated by the political right wing during its first 25 years, as various parties of the Right controlled the presidency until 1981 and always controlled a majority in the National Assembly and Senate as well. The arrival in power of François Mitterrand in the May 1981 presidential election heralded a watershed moment, a shift in priorities, and indeed the new president did enact a number of important reforms: increases in the minimum wage, an end to capital punishment, an overtaking of defence by education as the single largest state expenditure. Since 1981 there have been regular electoral reversals in parliamentary majorities with Left and Right controlling the government at various times, though the 14-year presidency of François Mitterrand (1981–95) remains the only period of left-wing control of the Elysee Palace.
