On November 13, Expressen published a article about Sweden’s Gender Equality Minister Paulina Brandberg and the fact that she suffers from banana phobia.
The publication caused many to react. Including Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson who at X called the publication a “low-water mark”. Education Minister Johan Pehrson also took to social media and wrote:
“That Paulina Brandberg, Sweden’s Minister for Gender Equality, is now reduced to a phobia is disturbing. She is a staunch liberal and former prosecutor. Often in cases where she stood on the side of vulnerable women. We should all be able to focus on that instead.”
“Casual media criticism”
Karin Olsson, deputy editor-in-chief at Expressen, calls it casual media criticism and something that has become typical of our time.
– It shows the tendency of our time to blame everything on the media, it’s an easy way to get away from a problem. I get tired of the whining in the media, she says to SVT.
Olsson says that the newspaper is generally reticent about writing about private problems such as phobias, but that this time it had an actual impact.
She therefore thinks that the publication was justified and does not reduce the Minister for Gender Equality.
– We have reported on a number of other things that the Minister for Gender Equality has done during his time, says Olsson and continues:
– It is a bit strange handling by the government that they consider it a major crisis where no less than three ministers have to quit. But I mean, this doesn’t shake the government.
“The discussion bigger than Expressen’s publication”
In addition to Pehrson (L) and Svantesson (M), Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) has also spoken out on the issue. He told Nyhetsbyrån TT yesterday that “he is disturbed when a hard-working cabinet minister is almost reduced to a phobia”.
In a comment to SVT, the Prime Minister’s press secretary Hanna Strömberg writes that:
“This discussion had then become much bigger than Expressen’s publication. He has not criticized Expressen’s publication or anyone else’s publication either, but the tone against Brandberg in the debate.”