I think it's safe to say he's probably hiding something.

[ he stares out into the crowd again, smiling and bubbly, though to a degree that seems practiced and ingenuine, like a scene in a play that had been rehearsed too much and lost its meaning. ]

Him and Harding both. Clarke's speech was a politicians, not something coerced. And Harding... well, he tried to make his drinking subtle, though I can't say he was very successful.