Rudd runs against PM Gillard in Oz leader bid

The former leader, who was ousted as prime minister by Gillard in 2010, quit as foreign minister while in Washington on Wednesday in preparation for a bid to reclaim his old job.

Gillard called a vote after weeks of speculation that he would challenge her for the role.

The secret ballot will be held on Monday as the bitter rivals attempt to resolve strife within the ruling party.

Gillard has said she will abandon her leadership ambitions if politicians in her party choose Rudd over her on Monday, and she called on her rival to do the same if he loses.

In announcing her decision to call the leadership ballot, Ms Gillard said Mr Rudd, as leader, had "very difficult and very chaotic work patterns".

"The government that Kevin Rudd had led had entered a period of paralysis," she said.

The opposition has seized on Labour's infighting, with Treasury spokesman Joe Hockey describing the attacks on Rudd as vicious, malevolent and an "absolute disgrace".

But Labour has continued to unleash its fury on the man who led them out of the political wilderness to electoral victory for the first time in more than a decade in 2007 and who still remains popular among the public.