workplace where they go through a perfunctory interview process for the purpose of complying with policy or law.

While this has some similarities to that kind of process, in this case the decision it up to 10 very high level executives and intellectuals, with some conflicting interests who are more subject to changing political influences than those doing job searches within a fixed bureaucracy.

So, however settled it may seem today, it's not done until it's done, imo.