Mr O'Farrell said if Mr Brogden had remained leader, he would have become premier. ''I would have been treasurer, so I have escaped something,'' he joked.
He said Mr Brogden deserved credit for uniting the party for the first time ''and we still imploded when he had his difficulties''.
On taking the leadership, Mr O'Farrell organised a ''round table'' with warring factions and brokered a peace agreement.
He said every organisation had factions, ''even P&Cs and P&Fs''.
''It becomes a problem when the interests of individuals supplant the interests of the organisation,'' he said. ''That's what happened for too long in the Liberal Party.''
Mr Debnam and Mr Brodgen declined to comment.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/i-could-have-saved-nsw-20130323-2gmk5.html#ixzz2OQWVNOJW

Yet, to those with a sense of organisational politics, culture and leadership, how could there have been any other denouement? It was apparent well before June 2010 that Rudd treated many of those around him badly, even contemptuously. A chronically sleep-deprived, erratic and angry micro-manager does not ordinarily enjoy a long shelf life, whether as a leader of a kindergarten, church, company or footy club. People who work with such individuals resent them. After a time, resentment breeds hostility and anger. And soon after, it becomes hate.

James Button, a gentle and highly experienced journalist, who briefly worked as Rudd's speechwriter and then later with public servants who worked for Rudd, wrote:

The truth is, Rudd was impossible to work with. He regularly treated his staff, public servants and backbenchers with rudeness and contempt. He was vindictive, intervening to deny people appointments or preselections, often based on grudges that went back years.

David Marr penned an analysis that highlighted Rudd's mysterious and sudden bouts of "icy rage" directed at those around him.