By Australia Correspondent Rachel Morton
Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is back in the headlines, but fellow Labor MPs deny he's making trouble.
He's carried out a series of television interviews and each of them has been done while Prime Minister Julia Gillard is out of the country.
In the interviews, Rudd has lamented the behaviour of MPs in Parliament. He wants Ms Gillard and Liberal leader Tony Abbott to stop the personal attacks and get on with their jobs.
“I worry about the people losing faith in the democracy all together,” he says.
“They are more deeply concerned about the bread and butter, back to basics issues.”
But it's the timing of Mr Rudd's latest interview which has people talking – as it seems while Ms Gillard’s away, Rudd will play.
When Ms Gillard was away six weeks ago, mourning her father's death, Mr Rudd was interviewed on television. When Ms Gillard was on her way back from New York three weeks ago, Mr Rudd did another interview. And a few days ago, with Ms Gillard in India, Mr Rudd did it again. And all three interviews have been done at the same time as political polls are being carried out.
It's clear Mr Rudd is positioning himself for a comeback as leader – but he won't challenge Ms Gillard. He's waiting for the Labor caucus to decide that he's the one who can lead them to victory at the next election.
Whoever leads Labor can be guaranteed of one thing, if Abbott’s words are anything to go by.
“The next election campaign will be the filthiest and the most personal in living memory,” he says.
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