Kevin Rudd says he expects to face a sustained campaign against him if he loses his battle against Prime Minister Julia Gillard for the Labor leadership.
Mr Rudd's decision to quit as foreign minister on Wednesday sparked a vicious bloodletting within the Labor party.
Speaking to the Nine Network's Laurie Oakes today, Rudd said: "I would be concerned that they would run an argument up the public flagpole that 'Look, the only reason the Labor party continues to do badly in the polls is because of Kevin Rudd — that's been the convenient excuse for 12 months."
"Or, whatever the outcome of the Queensland election, it's because of Kevin Rudd.
"I think it's time some people actually accepted responsibility for their own actions."
Mr Rudd toldOakes the personal attacks on him from his former ministers were unprecedented.
"I think there's a whole lot of things said about yours truly which perhaps should not have been said," he said.
The former prime minister and foreign minister also denied plotting his return to power a year ago and describing Ms Gillard as a "childless, atheist, ex-communist," at Adelaide's Stag Hotel in February 2011.
He pleaded for the "faceless men" to lay down their arms so the Labor party could unify before the next election.
Mr Rudd confirmed he would not challenge Ms Gillard again if he lost the party room vote — at least before the next election.
"If Julia is returned on Monday then she will have my unequivocal support between now and the next election because we have interests way beyond individuals here," he said.
"It's time for us to unite rather than divide."
Mr Rudd said after the ballot Labor needed to focus on ensuring Opposition Leader Tony Abbott could not inflict on Australia "the ravages of the most extreme right-wing government the country will have ever seen".
But Mr Rudd also declared no one within cabinet warned him before he was toppled in June 2010 that he was at risk of losing the party's confidence because he was running a paralysed and chaotic government.
In recent days Ms Gillard, her deputy Wayne Swan and a host of senior ministers have said Mr Rudd had to be rolled because the government had become dysfunctional.
"None of my colleagues, in cabinet meetings or privately, including Mr Swan, who is now most vocal in his opposition, ever said that to me," Mr Rudd said.
From Mr Swan there was "no prior warning, no nothing".
From then health minister Nicola Roxon — who on Friday accused Mr Rudd of wanting to take over the entire hospital system with just four days' notice but no legal advice — there had "never been anything ... ever raised with me".
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