@mpjgregoire @gemlog Oh it's definitely pure politics, even if merely mediated by the systems and procedures and culture put in place by (or simply distorted by the gravity of) a party or movement.

Pressure can be applied informally, or outright without explicit communication. A political appointee here, a firing there, or even just a promotion or two where the choice senda a clear message, and people will get the idea, and won't need written directives from the politicians or parties in question to know what they're expected to do in future scenarios and to feel the pressure to act accordingly. Particularly when it's in regards to an incident being very loudly and publicly litigated in the social and formal media!