Head of Sweden's main opposition party quits after poll drop
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The head of Sweden's main opposition party has resigned after falling support in opinion polls.
Anna Kinberg Batra, head of liberal Moderates, stepped down Friday, almost a year before Sweden's next general election, planned for Sept. 9.
Critics say her shift to the right in January when she initiated contacts with the populist, anti-immigration Sweden Democrats led to the drop. She stopped short of offering the euroskeptic party, considered a pariah by Sweden's mainstream parties, a place in any future government.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Support for the Moderates dropped to 15.2 percent, according to a recent poll, from 23.3 percent in the 2014 election.
Kinberg Batra took over from Fredrik Reinfeldt, Sweden's prime minister from 2006-2014. A replacement for the 47-year-old Kinberg Batra will be elected at a party congress in October.