It is hard not to frame the war of words between the African National Congress and the Congress of the People as akin to the two toughest kids in school meeting up on the playground. The hints of threats pass from the lips of ANC spokesmen even as COPE's people claim not to be at all afraid.
COPE continues to push forward, moving from dissident idea to full-fledged party in almost no time, fleshing out a power structure, drawing prominent supporters all along the way, and showing a remarkable knack for reaching out to a wide range of South Africans. The most serious question before the new party, then, will be whether it can support itself financially. Presumably funding will begin to rill in as the organization moves from dissidence to legitimate party status, but money, or its absence, seems to be the only thing likely to derail COPE from at least becoming the main opposition party at this stage.