Minerva’s Owl. Religion-inspired environmental skepticism. The case of Thierry Baudet

Abstract In March 2019, the Dutch right-wing politician Thierry Baudet won the provincial elections by a landslide. Baudet’s party, Forum voor Democratie (Forum for Democracy), is characterized by Euroskepticism, COVID 19 conspiracy theories, anti-immigration policies, and anti-environmental skepticism, overlayed with Christian-inspired conservatism. In his political speeches and interviews, Baudet is well-known for identifying environmental activism as a false religion whose ‘high priests’ are driving the masses into undeserved guilt. Even though Baudet’s political influence has been waning in recent years, his rhetoric is exemplary for Dutch climate skeptics, who utilize a religious vocabulary to criticize environmental activism. In this article, as a case study, I want to present an analysis of Baudet’s infamous ‘Owl of Minerva’ victory speech held in March 2019. It is not only illustrative of Baudet’s religion-inspired anti-environmental rhetoric, but the speech itself marked a turning-point in the Dutch public debate concerning the social and political acceptability of this rhetoric.