Labor burning up the history books HAVING rewritten Labor history by ousting a Prime Minister in his first term the party is now set to inscribe another fresh page by dumping the first woman to be Prime Minister. There could be no starker pointers to the internal calamity which has blighted the ALP for five years. It couldn't get much crazier than that could it? Well, yes. In February last year Simon Crean, the man who today is inviting Kevin Rudd to return as leader and Prime Minister, was damning him with vigour and enthusiasm. He now says he is a changed man and in office Constable Crean would keep an eye on him. At the core of this latest confrontation is a mass of personal recriminations and a legacy of fractured loyalties and historic grudges. Simon Crean mentored Julia Gillard's advance through the ranks to the top role in Parliament. Today he undid all that by detonating a ballot which could cost her that job. Just hours after telling reporters he backed Prime Minister Gillard, Mr Crean switched to Kevin Rudd and offered himself as deputy leader. That's just one of the personal histories which will shape the outcome of the leadership vote and define the shape of the government which emerges from it. If Mr Rudd becomes Prime Minister he will inherit an executive in which most ministers have fought him and backed Ms Gillard. Wayne Swan would lose the position of Deputy Prime Minister and he might even quit as Treasurer just seven weeks before he is scheduled to deliver a Budget. Other front bench members who would be uncomfortable in their jobs are Penny Wong, Brendan O'Connor, David Bradbury and Tony Burke. And of course Julia Gillard. Perhaps the most powerful personal factor is Mr Crean's assumed role as party elder statesman, a man with the corporate memory and experience which qualifies him to speak out. If Julia Gillard wins the ballot, Mr Crean will be speaking out from the back bench. Follow Mal on Twitter: @Farrm51