diff --git a/explorer.py b/explorer.py
index f312222..d0cbdcd 100644
--- a/explorer.py
+++ b/explorer.py
@@ -69,6 +69,26 @@ KNOWN_MAJOR_PARTIES = [
 ]
 
 
+# Current parliament parties (used for party-level SVD lookups)
+# Keep both common abbreviations and full names that may appear in the DB
+CURRENT_PARLIAMENT_PARTIES = frozenset(
+    [
+        "VVD",
+        "PVV",
+        "D66",
+        "GroenLinks-PvdA",
+        "GroenLinks",
+        "PvdA",
+        "CDA",
+        "SP",
+        "NSC",
+        "CU",
+        "ChristenUnie",
+        "BBB",
+    ]
+)
+
+
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Cached loaders
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -204,10 +224,41 @@ def load_party_axis_scores(db_path: str) -> Dict[str, List[float]]:
             f"AND entity_id IN ({placeholders})",
             party_list,
         ).fetchall()
-        return {
-            row[0]: json.loads(row[1]) if isinstance(row[1], str) else list(row[1])
-            for row in rows
-        }
+
+        out: Dict[str, List[float]] = {}
+        for row in rows:
+            party = row[0]
+            vec_field = row[1]
+            try:
+                if vec_field is None:
+                    # skip missing vectors
+                    continue
+                # string-encoded JSON vector
+                if isinstance(vec_field, str):
+                    vec = json.loads(vec_field)
+                # bytes (some DB drivers may return bytes)
+                elif isinstance(vec_field, (bytes, bytearray)):
+                    try:
+                        vec = json.loads(vec_field.decode("utf-8"))
+                    except Exception:
+                        # fallback: attempt to eval as list-like
+                        vec = list(vec_field)
+                # already a list/tuple/np.ndarray-like
+                elif isinstance(vec_field, (list, tuple, np.ndarray)):
+                    vec = list(vec_field)
+                else:
+                    # unknown type: attempt best-effort conversion
+                    vec = list(vec_field)
+
+                # ensure all entries are floats
+                vec_floats = [float(x) for x in vec]
+                out[party] = vec_floats
+            except Exception:
+                # skip malformed rows but keep processing others
+                logger.debug("Skipping malformed vector for party %s", party)
+                continue
+
+        return out
     except Exception:
         logger.exception("Failed to load party axis scores")
         return {}
@@ -249,55 +300,77 @@ def _render_party_axis_chart(
     """
     # Validate component selection
     if not isinstance(comp_sel, int) or comp_sel < 1:
-        st.caption("_Ongeldige SVD-as geselecteerd._")
+        st.caption("Ongeldige SVD-as geselecteerd.")
         return
 
     if not party_scores:
-        st.caption("_Partijdata niet beschikbaar_")
+        st.caption("Partijdata zijn niet beschikbaar.")
         return
 
     axis_idx = comp_sel - 1
 
+    # Determine maximum available vector dimension to validate selection
+    max_dim = 0
+    for v in party_scores.values():
+        try:
+            if isinstance(v, (list, tuple, np.ndarray)):
+                max_dim = max(max_dim, len(v))
+        except Exception:
+            continue
+
+    if axis_idx >= max_dim:
+        st.caption(
+            f"Geselecteerde component ({comp_sel}) valt buiten het bereik van de beschikbare vectoren ({max_dim} dimensies)."
+        )
+        return
+
     parties: List[str] = []
     xs: List[float] = []
 
     for party, vec in party_scores.items():
         # Ensure vec is indexable/sequence-like
         if not isinstance(vec, (list, tuple, np.ndarray)):
-            # skip malformed entries
+            continue
+        # safe indexing
+        if axis_idx >= len(vec):
             continue
         try:
             raw = vec[axis_idx]
-            # Convert to float safely
             val = float(raw)
+            # filter non-finite values
+            if not np.isfinite(val):
+                continue
         except Exception:
-            # skip entries that cannot be indexed or converted
             continue
         parties.append(party)
         xs.append(val)
 
     if not xs:
-        st.caption("_Partijdata niet beschikbaar_")
+        st.caption("Geen bruikbare partijposities gevonden voor de gekozen SVD-as.")
         return
 
     try:
-        x_min = min(xs)
-        x_max = max(xs)
+        x_min = float(min(xs))
+        x_max = float(max(xs))
     except Exception:
-        st.caption("_Onvoldoende gegevens om asbereik te berekenen_")
+        st.caption("Onvoldoende gegevens om het asbereik te berekenen.")
         return
 
-    # If min == max, apply symmetric padding around the value.
+    # Symmetric padding around the midpoint for balanced visualisation
     if x_min == x_max:
         padding = 0.5 if x_min == 0 else abs(x_min) * 0.1
         if padding <= 0:
             padding = 0.5
-        x_min = x_min - padding
-        x_max = x_max + padding
+        center = x_min
+        half = padding
     else:
-        # Expand range slightly for visual padding
-        x_min = x_min * 1.15
-        x_max = x_max * 1.15
+        center = (x_min + x_max) / 2.0
+        half = max(abs(x_max - center), abs(center - x_min))
+        # add slight visual padding
+        half = half * 1.15
+
+    x_min = center - half
+    x_max = center + half
 
     # Build horizontal scatter: y is constant (0) but offset for label placement
     ys = [0 for _ in xs]