AFP - Gamal Mubarak, younger son of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, cast himself as a defender of the poor on Sunday in a speech seen by many as an attempt to hone his prospects of succeeding his father.

The 45-year-old former investment banker heads the powerful policy committee in the ruling National Democratic Party and is widely tipped as the next president, although he has never admitted having presidential aspirations.

Addressing the party convention a day after his father pledged a "clean and free" presidential election in 2011, Mubarak held forth for more than an hour on the NDP's aims in what resembled a stump speech.

He detailed the party's social and economic programmes and said it will step up efforts to explain its policies to Egyptians.

The NDP "will especially pay attention to the poor, orphans and widows and women," he said.

Despite rampant speculation about his candidacy, Gamal Mubarak left out any mention of whether he would contest the elections, in keeping with his customary silence on the matter.

At a news conference later on Sunday, he ducked questions on whether he would run in the 2011 election.

His father, who is 81, has been Egypt's leader for 28 years but has yet to say whether he will stand again or whether he would support Gamal as a candidate.

Two ministers, including Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif, have said recently that Gamal Mubarak is a possible candidate, the closest senior officials have come to suggesting that he would run.

Speculation on the succession and the chattering class's preoccupation with the subject have increased in the wake of such comments and of reports, denied by the NDP, that it was conducting a poll on Mubarak junior's popularity.

Unlike his increasingly reclusive father, who seldom gives news conferences or talks to the media, Gamal Mubarak has been busy touring the provinces, even holding an online conference.

He also has a support group on the social networking site Facebook, although there is no evidence that he is linked to the group, and the NDP has not responded to reports that it financed the effort.

His supporters say he is perfect for the job, and the fact that he is the president's son works against him, they say, because otherwise his credentials would be not be disputed.

Gamal Mubarak is credited with helping to push through economic reforms that have won praise from foreign investors.

The topic raises the hackles of Egypt's opposition groups, which earlier this month launched a campaign against his succession to the presidency.

They have floated alternative candidates, including the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency Mohammed ElBaradei and Arab League chief Amr Mussa, who has not ruled out contesting the election.

Egyptian historian and analyst Muhammed Haykal has suggested including some of these potential candidates in a committee to oversee a peaceful transition of power when Hosni Mubarak steps down at the end of his term in office.