Paulina Brandberg, Swedish Minister for Gender Equality
The minister suffers from a severe phobia of bananas, which leads her ministry employees to demand that the fruit be removed from her surroundings during official visits.
According to Swedish government emails obtained by the Swedish tabloid, executive officials go to great lengths to ensure that all places visited by the Minister for Gender Equality, Paulina Brandberg, are they don’t have bananas. The reason? The minister’s strong phobia towards this yellow fruit.
“Paulina Brandberg has a strong allergy to bananas, so we would like to ensure that there are no bananas in the areas where she will be staying,” reads one of the ministry emails sent to the Norwegian Judicial Agency in anticipation of a working lunch.
Another email from the minister’s team sent to an administrative board states that “bananas are not allowed in the immediate vicinity“. In a message to the president of the Swedish parliament, the staff warns that there should be no “traces of bananas” during meetings. “It would be fantastic if you could remove fruit bowls with bananas the morning before the visit,” asked the minister’s assistant.
