Kevin Rudd's description of leadership coup

TONY Abbott has responded to Kevin Rudd's account about the "betrayal" of being dumped as PM, saying Australians are "sick of the soap opera".

Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard

KEVIN Rudd has penned his own account about the "betrayal" of being dumped as prime minister and his secret offer to deliver Julia Gillard the leadership.

The document, obtained by The Sunday Telegraph, describing the leadership coup in his own words, was provided to author Maxine McKew in the preparation for her book, Tales From The Political Trenches.

Responding to the new details today, opposition leader Tony Abbott suggested Labor should be given a stint in opposition to sort out their internal problems.

"I think the public are sick of the soap opera," Mr Abbott told reporters in Canberra.

"The Labor Party leadership is a soap opera and the only way to end the soap opera is to change the government."

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As Ms McKew's book reignites Labor's leadership wars, senior Labor figures clashed over the fallout with:

• Former Labor leader Simon Crean declaring it was "a mistake" to dump Mr Rudd as leader but warning MPs "we can't change again".
• Senior Labor frontbencher Penny Wong was humiliated by the ALP after the faceless man Don Farrell, who plotted Mr Rudd's downfall, was awarded the Number 1 spot on the Senate ticket.
• Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese attacked the decision as an "act of self indulgence" by Senator Farrell, his frontbench colleague.

In his written account of the leadership coup Mr Rudd writes that the political ambush was made worse by the fact he backed Ms Gillard's ambitions.

"I was married to a strong woman, I was the son of one and I was the father of one," Mr Rudd writes.

"And I too wanted to see a female prime minister. So given all of that, I was stunned when the coup occurred."

"Did I feel let down and indeed betrayed?," Mr Rudd writes. "Well of course. I am as human as the next person.

Mr Rudd writes he was blindsided by Ms Gillard and the Treasurer Wayne Swan who gave him no indication there was a problem in 2010.

The Queenslander reveals he repeatedly discussed handing over the leadership to Ms Gillard.

"I also said to her in my office one day in early 2010 that I had no intention of breaking the record book for being the longest serving Labor prime minister," Mr Rudd writes.

But in an olive branch, he has apologised to the ALP for his failures as PM and also urged Labor MPs to "put this whole chapter of ugly political history behind us".

Former Labor leader Simon Crean told The Sunday Telegraph that he believed it was "a mistake" to dump Mr Rudd as leader but warned MPs they could not go back to the future.

Mr Crean said this was not a criticism of Ms Gillard, but an assessment of the political damage caused by Labor's revolving door of leaders.

"We shouldn't have changed leader. But we have and we can't change again," Mr Crean said.

"It's always wrong to change the leader.

"But that's what we've done and we've got to stick with it."

But a fresh war erupted yesterday in the ALP over the Labor Party's decision to humiliate Finance Minister Penny Wong by awarding her the Number 2 spot on the SA Senate ticket.

Senator Farrell, dubbed one of the "faceless men", was one of the key players in the plot to remove Mr Rudd as prime minister secured the Number 1 spot in a 112-83 vote yesterday.

Senator Wong previously ran in the Number 2 spot in 2007 but the outcome is regarded as embarrassing because Ms Wong is now one of the government's most senior ministers.

The decision sparked a furious response from federal Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese. "This is an act of self indulgence which highlights the need for ongoing reform of the Australian Labor Party, Mr Albanese told The Sunday Telegraph.

"Penny Wong is obviously our most talented Senator from South Australia. Full stop. End of Story. Full Stop.

"ALP operatives need to understand that the end audience is always the voting public, not ourselves," he said.