In Sweden, a minister’s bizarre phobia is currently making headlines. Minister of Equal Opportunities Paulina Brandberg has an extreme fear of bananas. Their employees strive to keep their environment free of the fruit. According to her own statements, she has already received “professional help” for this reason.
Irrational fears can make someone’s life very difficult, especially if you are a politician in the public eye. It has now been revealed that Brandberg has an unusual phobia of bananas. According to “Expressen” this sometimes even reaches extreme proportions.
Crossed out banana for the meeting room
Her employees ensure that the minister is not confronted with the fruit if possible. An email from employees informed them of the aversion: “Ms. Brandberg has a strong allergy to bananas, so it would be welcome if there were no bananas in the areas where she will be staying,” the newspaper quotes. Her employees also posted a sign on a conference room door with a crossed-out banana on it. These measures are often justified by an “allergy” on the part of the politician.
The Prime Minister has great respect for people with phobias
“It’s an allergy, you could say,” Brandenberg told the newspaper when asked about it. That’s why she got ‘professional help’. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson supports her and says he has great respect for people with phobias. “I am disturbed to see that a hard-working minister has been reduced to almost a phobia.”
Political opponent declares bananas a ‘common enemy’
In the past, Brandenberg herself had made a problem of her phobia: in 2020 she shared her suffering in a post on Twitter – but this post was deleted. Unexpected support also comes from political competitors. Social Democrat Teresa Carvalho wrote about X: “We have had many tough negotiations about the conditions of professional life. But in this case we are standing together against a common enemy,” apparently referring to bananas.
Source: Krone
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