As for what those implications are: mostly it's a simple matter of remembering that when people in public office say they believe in something, they usually mean it and should be taken seriously. Assuming otherwise - assuming that everything is part of a cynical Great Game of some kind - is often a diplomatic default, but for all that it may be sophisticated it is not very clever.
This is giving public officials far too much credit. Public officials are obsessed with polls and social media, not values or any kind of grand strategy or belief
But its a circular thing, really.
They are "obsessed" with this stuff because it is how elections are normally won.
