ABSTRACT
The question of whether new goals have displaced long-held welfare objectives in France, the Federal Republic of Germany and Spain forms the basis of this chapter. These countries were selected because, institutionally, they conform to the 'continental' welfare model; also important, the elections of new governments in the early 1980s were accompanied by promises of fundamental change in social policy. Moreover, the longevity of these governments has provided a sufficiently long period for at least the major social goals to be implemented, since government leaders elected at the beginning of the decade were still in office in 1990, although in France, President Mitterand in the mid 1980s had to 'cohabit' with the conservative Prime Minister Chirac.
