A pattern is emerging in Western liberal democracies, in which centre-left and social democratic governments are losing power to centre-right governments. This paper outlines the extent of this pattern, and discusses factors that may be contributing to the process, such as a pendulum swing effect and the centre-right's greater success in capitalising on "value politics". The paper also briefly discusses other trends including the successes of the far right. Complete election results for 20 countries from 1993 to 2002 are included.