Former PM may challenge Gillard

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard's unpopular leadership is facing a new problem, with speculation that the man she toppled a year ago wants his old job back.

Kevin Rudd, now the Foreign Minister, prompted talk that he may be positioning himself for a return to the Labor Party leadership after he gave a series of newspaper interviews on the anniversary of his dumping.

"Have no doubt: Rudd is waging a comeback campaign," a former Labor leader, Mark Latham, wrote in the Australian Financial Review yesterday.

Ms Gillard became Australia's first woman prime minister on 24 June last year, but her minority government is increasingly unpopular. A weekend poll found Ms Gillard's support had hit a new low, with 60 per cent of voters favouring Mr Rudd to lead the party, compared with 31 per cent for Ms Gillard.