It was Expressen that first wrote about the minister's banana phobia, which has led to her colleagues sending out instructions before meetings that there must be no bananas nearby.
When Speaker Andreas Norlén invited Brandberg to a chat, he received email information, for example, that "no traces of bananas are allowed in the room".
The news spread internationally.
I couldn't in my wildest imagination understand that it would become such a big deal, says Paulina Brandberg in an interview with Aftonbladet.
Brandberg says she has had the phobia "as long as she can remember" and doesn't know why she got it. She says that she sometimes calls it an allergy because "it simply sounds less crazy and you get fewer questions".
The minister calls the uproar double. If it leads to a greater discussion about phobias, it may lead to something positive, according to Brandberg.
But then I think it's sad that the discussion has largely been mocking and belittling. It's a crazy phobia, I agree. I can understand that you can laugh and think it's funny. But I'm a bit worried that the mocking tone can increase the stigma around "crazy" phobias.
She wishes that more focus in the media had been on her work against men's violence against women, violence in close relationships, and honor oppression.
Then it becomes a bit skewed when the questions that I think are much more important don't get the same focus, that I suddenly become known for this instead, she says.
