Sarah Palin steps down, ‘just trying to keep it free’

Sarah Palin finally handed over the reins of power in Alaska on Sunday, leaving Americans none the wiser as to whether she will return to being a 'hockey mom' - albeit with a lucrative book deal on the side - or launch a campaign for the presidency in 2012.

She attended three farewell picnics over the weekend - one in the township of Wasilla where she began her political career in the early 1990s, a second in the state park in Anchorage, and a third on Sunday in Fairbanks, Alaska, where she formally handed over to the man who will serve out the remaining year-and-a-half of her term, the state's lieutenant-governor Sean Parnell.

Dispensing bonhomie and salmon burgers from the barbecue grill, Palin was as ambiguous as ever about her future plans, leaving this message on her Twitter site: "Ain't gonna shut my mouth / I know there's got to be a few hundred million more like me / just trying to keep it free." The lines are borrowed from the country singers Big & Rich.

The situation was made no clearer by her spokeswoman Meghan Stapleton, who also tends to speak in riddles. "I cannot express enough there is no plan after July 26," she said, before adding a remark of which Palin herself would be proud: "The decision [to quit] was made in the vacuum of what was best for Alaska."

While many observers remain convinced she has her eyes on the White House, some believe that public opinion has shifted too far against her. A new Washington Post/ABC poll gave her a favourability rating of only 40 per cent, with 53 per cent having unfavourable feelings towards her.

Meanwhile, an independent investigation has found evidence that Palin may have broken ethics laws by trading on her position as governor when she sought help to pay lawyers' fees in the wake of other ethics complaints brought against her.

The Associated Press has obtained a report made on July 14 by an investigator for Alaska's state personnel board. In it, he says there is probable cause to believe Palin had been securing unwarranted benefits and receiving improper gifts through the Alaska Fund Trust, set up by supporters.

If Palin is not allowed access to these funds, it is thought she will have to use some of her earnings from her book deal with HarperCollins to pay off the thousands of dollars she owes lawyers. The publishing deal is thought to worth as much as $7m. ·