Sentence:  Known as Pixie for his fresh looks, and Dr Death for his cold stare of disapproval, Rudd was said to have few friends in Canberra. Former Labor leaders Paul Keating and Mark Latham described him, respectively, as "a menace" and "a terrible <WSD>piece of work</WSD>". 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A person who has a strong and unusual personality, especially one with seriously unpleasant character flaws (e.g. "a nasty piece of work").