A Burning Question

Through the hazy mists of memory I seem to recall a rather enlightened discussion taking place within the confines of our MEH classroom about the 1968 Paris protestations. Perhaps you can picture this scene for yourself - I would in fact desire such a recollection on your part, for if you did not - oh, your understanding of the subject at hand would most certainly be hindered. At the time, my most distinguished colleague Jonathan (distinguished for he was sitting within my presence) ventured forth the analytical opinion that nothing of any true import was accomplished, but that, rather, the French political system remained bound to the shackles of a center-right executive, stretching back from the mustachioed visage of de Gaulle to the seeming hairlessness of Sarkozy. After noting that a superficially similar stagnation took place in both the U.S. and the U.K., one which coincided with a shift - nay, a swing! - towards the more conservative aspects of each country's national psyche, I felt compelled to ask whether similar changes in the makeup of the government (or rather a lack thereof) occurred in other European countries. Were there any significant and comprehensive trend characterizing 4th-quarter, 20th-century, European democracies? I dunno, and if no one else can act in a learned capacity on this matter, I shall have to partake in some wiki-research.