Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion’s bill imposing “collective responsibility” upon the Cabinet members representing all five of the parties in his new Government coalition passed in the Knesset (Parliament) here today, its first reading, by a vote of 55 to 20.
The bill, which Mr. Ben-Gurion wants in order to tighten discipline in the Cabinet, forbids Ministers to vote against any measure introduced by the Government in the Knesset. The bill also enjoins members of the Minister’s party from opposing such a draft measure, once it had been approved by a Cabinet majority.
The Prime Minister, who had been ill with a severe cold, was in fighting trim as he fought critics of his measure on the floor of the Knesset. Defending his proposal, he also took the occasion to lash out against Israel’s many splinter parties, insisting once more–as he has often–that Israel needs a two-party system, like those systems that have contributed toward stable government in the United States and Britain.
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