Python: possible to call static method from within class without qualifying the name

There is no way to use foo and get what you want. There is no implicit class scope, so foo is either a local or a global, neither of which you want.

You might find classmethods more useful:

class MyClass:
    @classmethod
    def foo(cls):
        print "hi"

    @classmethod
    def bar(cls):
        cls.foo()

This way, at least you don't have to repeat the name of the class.