Australian PM Gillard confident of beating Rudd

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard Friday said she was confident of beating Kevin Rudd in next week's leadership showdown, as she stepped up her attack on the outgoing foreign minister.

Labor Party lawmakers will vote Monday on whether to keep Gillard as leader or switch mid-term to former prime minister Rudd, who resigned as foreign minister on Wednesday after his relationship with Gillard fell apart.

"The choice that the nation faces and my parliamentary colleagues face on Monday is a choice as to who has got the character, the temperament and the strength to deliver on behalf of the Australian people," Gillard said.

"This isn't Celebrity Big Brother -- it is about working out who can lead the nation, who has got the ability to get things done.

Rudd, who has never forgiven Gillard for ousting him in a Labor Party coup in mid-2010, said he would fight for the premiership because he believed Gillard would lose next year's election to conservative leader Tony Abbott.