Rudd says Abbott lacks 'temperament' to deal with Syria crisis An Instagram pic of Kevin Rudd in a phone discussion about the Syrian situation with US President Barack Obama. KEVIN Rudd says Tony Abbott is a pugilist unable to deal with international crises. The attack was the Prime Minister's Hillary Clinton moment, emulating a tactic she used against Barack Obama in 2008 with a negative ad asking who Americans trusted with a 3am phone call about a dangerous world event. Like Ms Clinton, who said she was "tested and ready to lead in a dangerous world" during the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, Mr Rudd has painted himself as a trusted performer on the international stage against Mr Abbott as a leader unable to deal with complex world problems, such as the Syria crisis. "There are, in my opinion, difficult times which lie ahead and I sometimes question, I really do question, having known Mr Abbott for a long, long time whether he really has the temperament for that sort of thing," Mr Rudd told Today Tonight. You have got to sit back and think and calmly reflect and then work through what the best decision is and judgment and experience are quite important. He doesn't have a background on this field. Sometimes I find in him a bit of an impulsive nature that is rushing ahead with judgment, you know what his background is. He's been in parliament for 20 years, 19 of which he was the great pugilist, and in the last 12 months he has suddenly become the statesman. The Tony Abbott I know having served 15 years in the parliament with him is of a different nature. This stuff is complex, in diplomacy words are bullets, you have got to remember that. Mr Rudd claimed he had no issues with the temperaments of former Prime Minister John Howard or Coalition communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull, saying he had a "degree of background in dealing with these complex questions." It is unclear what he was referring to as Mr Turnbull, who was a successful businessman before entering parliament, has no background in diplomacy. Liberal Party federal director Brian Loughnane said Mr Rudd's comments were a sign of the prime minister's desperation. "We always said that the closer it gets to election day, the more negative and desperate Kevin Rudd and Labor will become," he said.