Everyone has something sweeping to say about last week’s European elections. And, indeed, from a glance, it’s easy to make pronouncements about the state of politics on the continent. Most emphasize mass abstention, the rise of far-right Eurosceptic parties that oppose the EU, the crisis of social democracy, even some gains by the radical left.

A careful look at the data, however, invites more caution. The most important questions to be raised are whether these elections unequivocally show an increasing disaffection of citizens towards the project of the European Union and whether the European political establishment is facing a deep and general crisis.

My answer on both counts is no: the electoral results show a growing discontent caused by the five year-long poisonous combination of austerity and crisis, but this is not sufficient to speak of a deep political instability and even less of a legitimacy crisis. Moreover, except for the rise of eurosceptic parties, it is difficult to identify a strong common trend. The results seem to largely be the outcome of diverse political dynamics in each country.