The theme song of a popular TV show from the last decade featured the lyric “I worry all the time. If you paid attention, you’d be worried, too.” It’s a wise posture when analyzing the slow-motion crisis that is Europe.

European governments are toppling like clock towers in an earthquake. The Dutch government fell on April 23, when it failed to agree with the opposition on an austerity plan. On May 6, Socialist Francois Hollande defeated France’s Nicolas Sarkozy. Greece’s ruling coalition has been shattered — the vote splintered among dozens of small parties.