Giuliani hints at run for White House

"I think I'll return to politics," Mr Giuliani told business leaders at a New York conference. But 2008 was still "too far away for a decision", he said, indicating he would not make up his mind until next year's mid-term congressional elections were out of the way.

Pressed on his political views, Mr Guiliani, who came to national prominence through his much-admired handling of the 9/11 aftermath, laughed off the question, saying: "I have some political visions. I don't know what they are yet, they're a little foggy."

Since leaving City Hall in New York, Mr Giuliani has grown rich as a public speaker and corporate executive. During the 2004 campaign he was a highly visible part of George Bush's re-election campaign, and delivered a memorable savaging of the Democratic nominee John Kerry in a speech to last year's Republican Convention in New York.

Polls suggest Mr Giuliani, with his socially moderate views and organisational skills, would be a formidable contender. His biggest difficulty, analysts say, might come in the primaries where his support for abortion and gay rights would not go down well with the activists who tend to dominate such elections.

Mr Giuliani has also been canvassed as a possible "hurricane tsar" to take overall charge of the Gulf coast reconstruction after hurricanes Katrina and Rita. But his ambitions have rarely been in doubt. At the weekend, he said he would "consider" a presidential run next year.