David Ben Gurion will present his new coalition cabinet to the Israel Parliament tomorrow and ask for a vote of confidence. Whether his cabinet will be a four-party coalition of the left or a five-party combination including the Hapoel Hamizrachi apparently would not be decided until shortly before Mr. Ben Gurion enters the Knesset tomorrow.
The central committee of the religious group decided last night not to enter the government but at a long meeting today in the hotel room in which Mr. Ben Gurion has been confined for the past few weeks by illness, both Mr. Ben Gurion and Moshe Shapira, Hapoel Hamizrachi leader made “serious concessions” to each other to pave the way for the religious party’s entry into the government. The mutual concessions were largely due to the insistent urging of President Itzhak Ben Zvi, who was present at the meeting and stressed that the present emergency required the most stable government possible. A final decision by the religious group was expected momentarily.
Mr. Ben Gurion had an informal meeting today with his new cabinet and outlined the speech he will make to the Knesset tomorrow in presenting his government. He also reported on his talks today with Mr. Shapira. Mr. Ben Gurion, it was disclosed, expected to confer tonight with Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett on his return from Geneva. He will speak for ah hour tomorrow reviewing the security situation as well as outlining his government’s program. Parliament is not expected to vote until Thursday night when, from present indications, it will receive a comfortable majority of 80 votes.
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