Perhaps some of the merit source are inactive or not as active as they used to and that could be another argument for adding another set of merit source to replace those inactive ones.
Merit sources going afk happen all the time. For example one of the Croatian merit sources left forum last September and hasn't been back since.
I think I read somewhere that theymos recently replaced one of the inactive merit sources with a enw one but can't remember (or find) who exactly was replaced
The increase in the number of merit sources may be conditioned by the previous results. Perhaps a more detailed analysis would give a clearer picture of how the merits are distributed and the possible effects of that.
I assume that this statement is not just made up, maybe it is time to tone down the drama surrounding the new merit sources.
At the moment, theymos is not considering anyone for the role of m'sources (I believe this will be the case for at least the next 6 months).