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What sense could be made out of this picture? First of all, the analysis here does
not have provide a statistically significant empirical basis to the theory that any increase
in the formal power of an institution leads to the popularity that I it commands among the
people. The dissection of the popularity into different components reveals that there are
some tensions and hesitation built into the people’s attitude to the EP. The negative
correlation between the perceived power of the EP and its desired power is particularly
suggestive. It seems that the people still perceive of the EP as remote and hold some
reservations for the EP becoming more powerful.