JULIA Gillard has confessed her brutal war with Kevin Rudd was a show about nothing, a political circus “all about ego and personalities”.’

In a revealing interview for a new book “Gravity — Inside the Prime Minister’s office during her final year and last days”, Ms Gillard discussed her time in the top job the morning after she was dumped as Prime Minister.

“This has been contentless, it’s been all about ego and personalities,’’ she said.

“When Rudd gave his speech as Labor leader people were chatting! But caucus will guts it out. They’ll have to.

“We defied political gravity for a long time, a very long time.”

media_camera Former Prime Minister Julia Gillard media_camera Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd

Ms Gillard also reveals that the decision of Senator Penny Wong to defect to the Rudd camp was a body blow that sealed her fate and has a jab at Labor frontbencher Jason Clare.

“Yesterday when Minister Jason Clare came in to tell her he could not vote for her, she asked why,’’ Delahunty writes.

“It’s about my seat,’’ Clare replies. “No,’’ she countered. “It’s about principle.”

“Senior Minister Penny Wong came to her in tears. She, too, was abandoning Gillard. Why? “It’s the South Australian seats,’’ Wong replies.

“I knew then that I’d lost it,’’ Gillard said.

During the interview Ms Gillard also confirms she would not be campaigning for the ALP publicly during the 2013 election because it would undermine the Labor cause.

“No I would not do that. It would be distracting, a re-run of the circus.’’

She also discusses the tough personal toll of the Labor leadership wars.

“I know, too, that you can feel you are fine but suddenly someone’s words of comfort, or finding a memento in the back of a cupboard as you pack up, or even cracking jokes about old times, can bring forth a pain that hits you like a fist, a pain so strong you can feel it in your nerve endings. I know that late at night or at quiet moments of the day feelings of regret, memories that make you shine with pride, a sense of being unfulfilled can overwhelm you.’’

In this book, one of her most senior advisers Tom Bentley complains, “they pushed her into the top job and then wouldn’t let her get on with it.”

Author Mary Delahunty was “embedded’’ in the Prime Minister’s office for six months to write the book at the request of Ms Gillard and chief of staff Ben Hubbard. But her presence infuriated staff who were worried she was recording private conversations.

Her book suggests they shouldn’t have worried, an unabashed Labor supporter, Ms Delahunty is an unabashed supporter. At one stage in the book she grasps the hand of Bill Shorten begging him to stick the course with Australia’s first female Prime Minister. Ms Delahunty writes the approach makes him grimace.

Originally published as Julia admits war with Kevin ‘all about ego’