President and Mrs. Ben Zvi began a 12-day vacation today, bringing to a standstill for that period the futile effort of Premier-Designate David Ben Gurion to carry out the President’s mandate to form a new Government. Mr. Ben Gurion was expected to maintain his leave of absence as Premier-Designate until next Monday or Tuesday.
Mr. Ben Gurion was asked by the President to form a new Government after he resigned when he was unable to force out of his coalition Cabinet the four Ministers of the left-wing Mapam and Achdut Avodah who had voted against the recent sale of Israel-made arms to West Germany.
His hopes of forming a new coalition Government until the November elections dashed by the refusal of other parties to cooperate, Mr. Ben-Gurion was obliged to continue the present Government with the participation of the left-wing Ministers unless he decided to return the mandate to the President, which he was not expected to do.
It was expected that when the President returns from his vacation Mr. Ben Gurion will call on him to report that the present caretaker Government will continue until the elections.
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