A reporter from The Australian newspaper who was sharply rebuked by Prime Minister Julia Gillard for being "rude" at a press conference this morning has apologised for his behaviour.
Michael Owen meant no disrespect to Ms Gillard when he asked her whether she was positioning herself to take over the leadership before Mr Rudd was ousted, The Australian's editor-in-chief, Chris Mitchell, said.
But Owen contacted Ms Gillard's office after the press conference to express his regret "for the manner in which he questioned her", he said.
In a tense news conference in which the prime minister announced a leadership ballot set for Monday morning, Ms Gillard's patience was pushed to the brink by Owen's persistent questioning.
Ms Gillard eventually snapped back at what she branded "rudeness" and sought to put the journalist, back in his place.
"I'm not listening to this rudeness," she said.
"I'm not going to have you speak to me like this, end of sentence.
"Now it is your colleague's turn [to ask a question], don't be rude to him."
Ms Gillard's conference took a markedly different tone to Kevin Rudd's more upbeat, optimistic performance in front of the press in Washington earlier this morning.
She was scathing in her criticism of Mr Rudd's time in office which she said descended into "paralysis" before he was removed by colleagues in June 2010.
She accused Mr Rudd of running a "difficult" and "chaotic" government which lost the support of "those who knew him best".
While praising Mr Rudd's campaigning skill in the 2007 campaign, the prime minister hinted that Mr Rudd had "sabotaged" her own 2010 campaign in which Labor scraped into government with the help of four independents.
In a snap press conference earlier today, Mr Rudd took a more positive approach reminiscent of his "Kevin 07" campaign which won him the nation's top job from stalwart Liberal leader John Howard.
Mr Rudd appealed to colleagues and a nation weary of the "politics of division" to come together, and said he was "shocked" and "disappointed" at the savage personal attacks he had sustained since he resigned from the foreign minister's post.
During the speech he signalled his intention to contest the leadership without formally announcing a campaign.
He said "many more" colleagues had called him to say they regarded him as the "best prospect to lead the Australian Labor Party successfully to the next election, to save the Labor Party at the next election, and to save the country from the ravages of an Abbott government".
Ms Gillard, who has vowed to settle the leadership question "once and for all" on Monday morning, said she believes she retains the support to win the ballot.
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