"haven't done well since 1997"
We came second in 1998, third (or 4th, depends on who you ask) in 2002 and 5th in 2009. Not winning isn't necessarily bad. You can pin that on not "muh political voting", you can pin that on the rule that allows the countries to sing in any language they please.
Also with the increase of countries actually trying now, one can argue that any time you get on the left side of the scoreboard, it's doing well.