United States:New York mayor Michael Bloomberg has hurled a political grenade into the 2008 presidential race by announcing that he is leaving the Republican Party, a move that has heightened speculation that he will run for president as an independent.
The 65-year-old mayor, whose fortune is conservatively estimated at more than $5 billion, made his announcement after a visit to California during which he disparaged the current presidential candidates in both parties. "I have filed papers with the New York City Board of Elections to change my status as a voter and register as unaffiliated with any political party. Although my plans for the future haven't changed, I believe this brings my affiliation into alignment with how I have led and will continue to lead our city," he said.
A lifelong Democrat, Mr Bloomberg became a Republican in 2001 as he sought to succeed Rudy Giuliani as New York's mayor. An advocate of abortion rights, gay marriage and gun control, he has never felt at home within mainstream Republicanism but at a Google conference in California this week, he lashed out at both parties.
"We do not have to settle for the same old politics. We do not have to accept the tired debate between the left and right, between Democrats and Republicans, between Congress and the White House. Partisanship may be king in Washington, but the rest of us don't have to pay tribute," he said.
Mr Bloomberg insisted again this week that he is not a candidate for president and that he intends to complete his term as mayor, which is due to end in 2009. But he has raised his national profile dramatically in recent months and he shares the cover of the current issue of Time magazine with California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who said this week that Mr Bloomberg would make an "excellent" candidate for president.
In his statement announcing his departure from the Republican Party, the mayor summed up what is likely to be the theme of a presidential campaign, should he choose to run.
"Any successful elected executive knows that real results are more important than partisan battles and that good ideas should take precedence over rigid adherence to any particular political ideology. Working together, there's no limit to what we can do," he said.
Mr Bloomberg's wealth, which he made from the media and financial data company that bears his name, means he could fund a presidential campaign himself. Recent reports have suggested that he is prepared to spend up to $1 billion on a presidential run.
With Mr Giuliani and Hillary Clinton as frontrunners for their parties' nominations, Mr Bloomberg's entry into the race could see three New York candidates battling it out in next year's election.
Mrs Clinton was heckled as she tried to woo liberal activists at a Democratic conference in Washington, declaring that the Bush administration has "a stunning record of secrecy and corruption, of cronyism run amok".
