Showdown looming between Anthony Albanese and Bill Shorten to take over the Labor leadership Former prime minister Kevin Rudd with Bill Shorten. A SHOWDOWN is looming over who will replace Kevin Rudd for the Labor leadership. Former deputy prime minister PM Anthony Albanese is refusing to stand aside to allow Bill Shorten to take the reins. Mr Shorten's office has confirmed that the Melbourne MP will nominate for the leadership ballot but he is unable to do so formally until the Labor caucus meets on Friday. He will make a statement on the matter later today. Mr Albanese is yet to comment on his leadership intentions. Under new rules drafted by Mr Rudd and adopted before the election, rank-and- file party members would be allowed a 50 per cent say in who leads. Mr Albanese, who also considers himself a contender, is being urged by some not to contest for the sake of unity, and so avoid a vote. But supporters of Mr Albanese say reports that he would not stand were wrong and he had yet to make up his mind. Mr Shorten is believed to have the backing of both the NSW and Victorian Right factions, which together form the most powerful bloc of votes. Mr Albanese is from the minority Left faction, of which Julia Gillard was a member before she became non-aligned as prime minister. Mr Shorten has ambitions to become prime minister and sources close to him said taking on the leadership now could end those ambitions especially if the Coalition stayed in power for at least two terms. "He is being asked by his party to do it and for that reason he will do what is in the best interests of the party, even if they are not in Bill's own best interests," a Shorten backer said. As Friday's caucus meeting approaches, calls grew for for Mr Rudd to a quit parliament. Anthony Albanese. Picture: Renee Nowytarger Source: News Limited Yesterday the former immigration minister, Brendan O'Connor, said Mr Rudd should leave parliament for good to allow the party to rebuild under a new leader. And former environment minister Tony Burke called for an end to division in the party, claiming renewed public discussion of its internal problems signalled to the electorate that it had learnt nothing. On Monday, former minister Craig Emerson accused Mr Rudd of destabilising key front-benchers including former PM Julia Gillard. Yesterday the Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, called Prime Minister-elect Abbott last night to congratulate him on his election victory. He agreed to a request from Mr Abbott to meet one-on-one for their first bilateral meeting. Sources said the two leaders shared a warm conversation in which Mr Abbott confirmed he would visit Indonesia next month for the APEC world leaders meeting. Backers of Mr Shorten were hoping the former union boss would be elected unopposed at a caucus meeting this Friday with the chief national right faction swinging their support behind him. However, they are nervous that Mr Shorten may fail to win the support of rank and file members, which, under Mr Rudd's new rules adopted before the election, would be allowed a 50 per cent say in who gets the job. Senior ALP Right figures have confirmed that Mr Shorten was being prevailed upon to stand for the leadership with the assurance that he had the numbers to back him in the caucus. "Bill would win the caucus, but he may not necessarily win the rank and file vote," a senior Labor official said. Mr Albanese, who also considers himself a contender, is now being urged by some within the party not to contest a leadership ballot in the sake of unity, to avoid a vote having to be taken at all. "Bill is considered the only option to lead Labor out this morass," said one senior Right wing MP. Bill Shorten. But supporters of Mr Albanese claim that reports he would not put his hand up were wrong, and he had yet to make up his mind whether to run. Mr Shorten is believed to have the backing of both the NSW and Victorian Right faction, which together form the most powerful bloc of votes. Mr Albanese is from the minority Left faction, of which Julia Gillard was a member before she became non-aligned as Prime Minister. Mr Shorten has long harboured ambitions to become Prime Minister, and sources close to Mr Shorten said that taking on the leadership now could end those ambitions - with the likelihood that the Coalition would stay in power for at least two terms. But he is being asked by his party to do it, and for that reason he will do what is in the best interests of the party, even if they are not in Bill's own best interests. With a caucus meeting scheduled for this Friday to election a new leader, there are growing calls for Mr Rudd - who resigned the leadership on Saturday night in the wake of the election result - to also quit Parliament. Yesterday former immigration minister Brendan O'Connor said Mr Rudd should leave parliament for good to allow the party to rebuild under a new leader. "Kevin should seriously contemplate leaving the parliament to allow whoever's the leader to get on with us taking it up to the Coalition," Mr O'Connor said. Former Environment Minister Tony Burke has called for an end to the division, claiming renewed public discussion of the party's internal problems signalled to the electorate that it had learned nothing from the election result. " (My) plea to colleagues on this is, please stop," he told ABC radio. Let's not have an election night where we all say we understand the message was that we've got to stop the infighting, and then two days later, we're having arguments like this. I had strong things to say about Kevin a couple of years ago now, and I just think we've just had an election outcome now, let's treat everybody with a bit of dignity. Former trade minister Craig Emerson accused Mr Rudd of treachery and tearing the party apart. "Kevin Rudd has destabilised the shadow foreign minister Laurie Brereton, opposition leader Simon Crean, opposition leader Kim Beazley, prime minister (Julia) Gillard and, consistent with that behaviour, would be highly likely to destabilise any new opposition leader," he had said. Former party leader Simon Crean said the party had been destroyed by the Gillard/Rudd war. "He's an egotist; she's a denialist," Mr Crean said. And that's what we were dealing with. Two people who believed they were the best asset for the party, rather than them being part of a process that had really set this country up and build on it.