Open verbal war broke out on Tuesday November 29 night between the Western Cape ANC and its key alliance partner, the SA Communist Party, with the SACP accusing "elements" of the ANC leadership of being racist and corrupt, and the ANC hitting back, calling the accusations "childish", "tragic" and devoid of truth. The communists were acting as though they were in heaven and everyone else was in hell, the ANC charged. The extraordinary verbal battle between the two parties came as tensions rise in the ANC ahead of next year's local government elections and against the backdrop of a drawn-out and debilitating regional fight for the heart and soul of the party.