[nucleative]

I'm an American working from Thailand for the past decade or so, and this strategy is relatively common for the governments around here.

It's chaotic. They will usually have mid level officials announce some new policy as if it's a done deal.

Then, if there's no public outcry, a higher level official will confirm it and maybe, eventually, details will roll out.

If the public responds very negatively, the idea will just disappear or the higher level guy can distance himself from the low level guy "who was misinformed".

I think it's how they test the water and decide if it's worth the effort.