Ben Gurion Clarifies Stand on Formation of Broad Coalition Cabinet

Prime Minister-designate David Ben Gurion today made known his views on the prospects for the formation of a broad coalition Cabinet in a lengthy article in “Davar,” official organ of the Histadrut, Israel Federation of Labor.

He opened the article by taking exception to the standard method of describing him as Prime Minister-designate. The provisional Constitution, he pointed out, made no provision for such a post. He added that he considers himself “the President’s envoy and, perhaps, the envoy of several hundred thousand voters, who is entrusted to form a Cabinet, and who tries to do this to the best of his ability and sees it as his moral duty to inform the public as to the means he uses to form a Cabinet.”

The President, Mr. Ben Gurion continued, had stressed the necessity for the formation of a Government on the widest possible coalition basis, with the exception of Herut, which has “publicly stated they will not sit in the same Cabinet with Mapai,” and the Communists, who “do not come into consideration in my opinion, and probably in the opinion of the entire nation.” He reiterated his opposition to many parties which are concerned only with their own narrow party interests and are unmindful of their responsibility to the State.

Continuing, he said that despite his objection to the narrowness of some party points of view, he is trying to fulfill the President’s mandate and has invited all parties, excluding the two mentioned, to join in the attempt. He then repeated his seven-point plan as presented to the parties–collective responsibility, progress towards economic independence, populating the unpopulated areas in the north and south, bridging the gap between old and new immigrants, tense vigilance for security and peace, concern for moral integrity and encouragement of volunteering on a national scale.

Meanwhile, Mr. Ben Gurion today approached General Zionist leader Dr. Peretz Bernstein and asked permission to address the Central Committee of that party. The General Zionists agreed to grant this permission and it is expected that Mr. Ben Gurion will address the group on Friday. It was also reported today that the General Zionists might be willing to enter the Cabinet if they were ceded the mayorship of Tel Aviv. Reports were also circulated to the effect that the religious groups had given Mr. Ben Gurion an “ultimatum” on the inclusion of their religious demands as part of the proposed Cabinet’s program.