The new Israeli Government will be a wide coalition government though the Mapam and the Horuth will probably not be included, Mapai leaders stated today following a study of the count of about two-thirds of the votes which gave the Labor Party a clear lead with 34.4 percent of the votes.
It is not yet known whether the General Zionists, who received 5.7 percent of the ballots, will join the coalition, but it is almost certain that the Religious “bloc, which placed second with 13. 6 percent, and the Progressives with over 4 percent, will join the government. This will guarantee a continuation of the present foreign policy.
Hador, the Mapai evening newspaper, last night predicted the following distribution of seats in the 120-member Constituent Assembly: Mapai, 43, Religious Bloo, 18; Mapam, 17; Heruth (sponsored by the former Irgun Zvai Leumi),10 or 11; General Zionists, 8; Progressives, 7; Sephardim, 5; Communists, 3; Wizo, 2; and Fighters (formerly the Stern Group), 1. In addition two Arabs will be added to the Mapai delegation. Since the Sephardim are almost certain to join forces with the General Zionists, Hador said, the latter will move into fourth place, ahead of Heruth.
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