Stockholm mayor steps down

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, April 17 (UPI) -- The mayor of Stockholm has resigned, leaving the City Council in Sweden's capital with the task of electing a replacement, city officials said.

Mayor Kristina Axen Olin explained her decision to step down on the Moderate Party's Web site, the Swedish news agency TT reported Thursday.

"This has been a tough decision," Olin said. "But the price of my duties is too high."

The mayor took a month off in November to resume an alcohol treatment program she had begun earlier in the year, the news agency said.

A new mayor of will be formally elected by the City Council in the near future, Olin's resignation statement said.