Giuliani eyes politics
2003-06-23 18:43
New York - "America's mayor" Rudy Giuliani is looking to return to public office, but says he has yet to decide whether to aim for the senate, a governor's mansion, or maybe even the White House.
In an interview published in the latest issue of Time magazine, the man widely credited with seeing New York through the trauma of the September 11 terrorist attacks, also warned that the city risked making a major mistake with the re-development of the devastated World Trade Centre site.
On his return to politics, Giuliani, 59, said any campaign was still a "couple of years" away.
"And whether it's Senate, governor - I don't know what else there would be - those will all be things that I would look at," he said.
Asked if he had any presidential ambitions, Giuliani was more circumspect.
"I have no idea. I've never really seriously sat down and thought about it," he said. "I almost think it's arrogant, something you just don't do unless there's a realistic possibility."
In the 18 months since he stepped down as New York City's mayor, Giuliani has maintained an extremely high public profile.
Influential vote
He has travelled the lucrative lecture circuit, wedded long-time companion Judith Nathan and seen his story told in a TV movie, with James Woods in the starring role.
Given his strong connection in the public eye to the September 11 period, Giuliani has had an influential voice in the rebuilding of Ground Zero - and his position on the current plans is distinctly negative.
Defining the primary purpose of the site as a place of remembrance to the victims, Giuliani said all the designs so far had made the memorial a secondary thought after the replacement of office space.
"I'm very, very afraid that future generations are going to be very angry that we did not appropriately, on a grand enough scale, remind people of what happened," he said.
As for the TV movie, Giuliani reckoned he could have outshone Woods in the acting stakes.
"I thought I could have done a better job of playing myself - although I like him very, very much," he said.
- AFX