Squaring up across the Commons chamber is one thing and is a familiar part of Ed Balls and George Osborne's political lives but what happens when they meet on the street?
Politicians in 'real' situations can often be toe-curling events - think Tony Blair playing keepy-uppy with Kevin Keegan for starters - but it looks as though George and Ed seemed reasonably happy to see each other as they bumped into each other outside the Millbank studios in Westminster. Well, Balls does anyway, possibly because he knows he doesn't actually have the problem of sorting out the country's economic ills.
George eyes up Ed's briefcase
Of course both men were stomping the streets of Westminster early on the morning after the day before to give their sides of the Budget story, including interviews with the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.
Challenged over why he had provided loans for housebuyers to meet deposit costs and not offered more money and incentives to build houses, especially social housing, Mr Osborne responded: "Yes, we need more homes...I don't think the solution to our housing situation is simply to build many, many, more social homes."
Equally amused at the meeting between the chancellor and his shadow is Ed Ball's special adviser, Balshen Izzet
Osborne was also keen to let the nation know that things could actually be a lot worse while Balls enjoyed letting Today listeners know that he was more popular than the chancellor according to a recent poll in which policies with his name in front of it were popular than those of Mr Osborne.
All serious stuff then.