The tree-planting ceremony in Tehran's Dialogue Park feels more like an early stop on Iran's presidential campaign trail than a bid by a humble local mayor to turn Iran's largest city green.

Some break through the photographers ringing Mayor Mohammed Baqr Qalibaf and give voice to one of the biggest questions in Iran's political future: the ambitions of this former national police chief and moderate conservative for top office.

"Can I have an autograph?" asks one Gulf Arab diplomat after planting his nation's tree in the park. Mr. Qalibaf laughs, and, in mock surprise, asks why.

"Tomorrow you will be president!" enthuses the diplomat, evoking a smile from the square-jawed mayor with receding hair and designer sunglasses.

The Tehran mayor's post has long been a launchpad for national political aspirations in Iran. Arch-conservative President Mahmoud Ah madinejad used the office to turn a nondescript political career in the provinces into victory in June 2005, beating a mix of other right-wing candidates, including Qalibaf.

Analysts say that Qalibaf has learned the lessons from that failed bid, in which he ran a slick, Western-style campaign that played on his credentials as a commercial Airbus pilot. It won him less than 14 percent of the first-round vote (Mr. Ahmadinejad won 19 percent) and did not show, they say, enough reverence for the needs of the conservative common man.

Presenting himself today as Iran's new "man of action," Qalibaf is striving to impress at home, with a host of initiatives to improve life for 10-15 million residents in chaotic Tehran and a workday that often begins with meetings before dawn, while showing himself to be comfortable on the global stage.

"He could be the key of the next political fight. He comes from an older generation of [Revolutionary Guards], and could help bring them back into the mainstream," says Mohammad Hadi Semati, a political scientist at the University of Tehran. "Given the reckless record of Ahmadinejad in the Iranian political context, he may be a new bright star."

Thursday, the mayor wrapped up a three-day visit to Switzerland, which is portrayed as a summit between the mayors of Zurich and Tehran to discuss municipal problems like traffic control. But the event has been burnished to appear like a state visit with top-level meetings.

"Everything Qalibaf does, he's got his eye on the presidency," says one friend and adviser to the mayor. When a military plane crashed into a Tehran apartment block in December 2005, for example, Qalibaf set off on a motorcycle, beating the traffic and arriving at the scene before most emergency workers.

"He was effective," says one young Iranian who worked in the Ministry of Interior at the time. "He has a reputation as an action man, as being able to move from concept to action. Among my friends, people love Qalibaf above others."

The mayor received a crucial political boost in December, when his moderate conservative allies won municipal elections in Tehran and in cities across Iran, defeating candidates loyal to his rival, Ahmadinejad, whose own four-year tenure expires in 2009.

Careful political calibration

But finding the right balance is tricky so many months before the presidential vote. The mayor's office has yet to grant an interview with foreign media and recently cancelled a much-anticipated press conference.

"Qalibaf has to walk on very cautiously, to do some publicity, but not too much," says a Western diplomat. "He's not an ideological man; he's a technocrat."

But Qalibaf is also not afraid to reach far beyond Tehran. When he describes environmental issues, he talks in global terms. And in a lecture last month, he spoke of Iran's need for a "dynamic diplomacy" to accommodate "new situations" abroad.

The mayor accused the US of "hegemonic" policies in the Middle East. Signaling that he might pursue a less aggressive foreign policy for Iran, Qalibaf said, "A lot of time has passed" since the 1979 Islamic revolution, and that "competition along with collaboration will take the place of opposition and disagreement."

Iranians laud Qalibaf for a string of thoughtful innovations while noting that he has little of the personal speaking charisma that surrounds characters such as Ahmadinejad. As national police chief, Qalibaf created an emergency telephone number for police (110), decked out the force in new uniforms, and instilled a new professionalism.

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