Swedish minister's unusual fear leads to special room checks before meetings
A high-ranking Swedish official deals with an uncommon phobia that affects government operations. Staff must do special room inspections before ministerʼs visits to ensure safe working environment
Paulina Brandberg‚ Swedens minister for gender equality needs help with her un-usual fear which makes govt staff do extra work before meetings (they have to check rooms for specific items)
About 4 years ago‚ she wrote on social media about having the “worlds weirdest phobia“; however that post isnt available anymore. Recent leaked e-mails show her team had to make special arrangements: they asked for banana-free zones due to what they called a “strong allergy“
The situation got more complex when her staff contacted Andreas Norlén‚ the parliament speaker with specific requests; they wanted to ensure there were no traces of the fruit anywhere near where the minister would be. In a news-paper interview Brandberg explained its “sort of an allergy“ and mentioned shes getting professional help
- Seeing or smelling bananas can cause anxiety
- The phobia often starts in childhood
- Symptoms include feeling sick when near bananas
It bothers me that a hard-working minister is now almost reduced to a phobia
Support came from unexpected places - Teresa Carvalho‚ an opposition party MP shared that she has the same fear saying they “stand united against a common enemy“ despite their political differences
