Swedish Minister’s Banana Fear Requires Special Government Care
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Sweden’s Minister for Gender Equality’s unusual phobia of bananas has led to extensive governmental accommodations, requiring careful planning and coordination across various high-level functions.
Liberal Party politician Paulina Brandberg, 41, requires her staff to meticulously inspect and clear venues before her arrival, ensuring they are free from the fruit that triggers her intense fear. According to recent findings by Aftonbladet newspaper, her office has sent at least 44 emails coordinating these special arrangements for high-profile meetings.
🚨I 🇸🇪 #ÚLTIMAHORA | #INSÓLITO | La ministra de igualdad de género de Suecia, Paulina Brandberg, prohibió las bananas en su oficina y otros lugares de trabajo, debido a su bananafobia. 🤡
Fuente: BBC NEWS pic.twitter.com/nBGcKJ53Y8
— 🔰Guardianes Patrióticos (@Patrioticos_RD) November 16, 2024
The scope of these precautionary measures reaches the highest levels of European politics and Swedish society. Communications have been sent to EU summit organizers, Norwegian government officials, and even the Swedish Parliament’s speaker. Even royal engagements aren’t exempt, with staff ensuring banana-free arrangements for a dinner with the King.
The minister’s phobia exhibits some curious nuances. In one instance, when a venue proposed serving food on banana leaves, her team approved this arrangement, highlighting the specific nature of her fear. Initially, her staff portrayed the situation as a severe allergy, though Brandberg has since acknowledged it as what she terms “the world’s weirdest phobia.”
Sweden’s Gender Equality Minister, Paulina Brandberg, has banned bananas from government facilities due to a severe phobia.
Follow: @AFpost pic.twitter.com/iprJgMmhAF
— AF Post (@AFpost) November 15, 2024
Despite seeking professional help to address this unusual fear, progress has been limited. A spokesperson for Brandberg noted, “Paulina has met various therapists in periods over several years, but unfortunately she has not progressed as far as she wished. She has great confidence in the therapist she is now seeing. Her goal is for it to produce results so that her phobia will neither affect herself nor those around her in the future.”
