Defence minister Stephen Smith has sidestepped claims senior Labor figures would rather lose the next election under Prime Minister Julia Gillard than bring back Kevin Rudd.
Mr Smith says the Labor leadership needs to be "settled with finality" when caucus votes in Canberra on Monday.
Mr Smith says he is not "embarrassed" by any of the nasty comments his colleagues have made about Mr Rudd in the course of a "robust" leadership dispute.
Senior Labor frontbenchers including Treasurer Wayne Swan have trashed Mr Rudd's legacy as PM in recent days.
"The community understand when there's a fight on - whether it's Howard and Peacock, Hawke and Keating, Beazley and Crean - once that's resolved they want to see people getting on with the job," Mr Smith told ABC TV.
He said voters were asking Labor politicians to explain why Mr Rudd had been replaced suddenly 20 months ago.
"Given the speed in which he was replaced, it's a legitimate question to answer in this context," Mr Smith said.
Mr Smith praised Mr Rudd's apology to the Stolen Generations and economic management during the financial crisis.
However, he said Mr Rudd had been difficult to work with during challenging policy reforms.
Asked to comment on reports that anonymous senior Labor figures would rather lose the next election under Prime Minister Julia Gillard than bring back Kevin Rudd, Mr Smith fobbed off the question.
"I form the view that our best prospect (for government) is supporting Julia Gillard," he said.
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