Weizmann Sees Party Lesders on New Govt.; Mapam Outlines Conditions for Participation

President Weizmann today began negotiations with the various Israeli parties represented in the Constituent Assembly on the formation of a Cabinet. Leaders of the major parties called at the President’s home at Rehovoth to outline the conditions under which their groups would participate in the government. Meanwhile, a government spokesman here said last night that it is unlikely that the new government will be formed before the middle of next week.

The first party to set forth its conditions was the left-wing Mapam, which demanded the following minimum program: 1. Establishment of a progressive government based on a labor majority, plus other progressive forces, and taking into account the fact that the opposition will be composed of rightists; 2. Provision of guarantees that Israel’s foreign policy will be one of real neutrality and that on the economic front it will be balanced between the Eastern and Western blocs; 3. Nationalization of land and water resources and the basic branches of the country’s economy. Also, the establishment of government monopoly of foreign trade and the institution of a system of progressive taxation.

The Mapam agreed to enter the Cabinet under the leadership of David Ben Gurion, Mapai’s chief, and demanded that it receive proportional representation among the personnel of all ministries. Other parties whose representatives saw President Weizomann today were the Mapai, Religious Bloc, General Zionists and Progressives.

The President replied that all constructive elements should be represented in the Cabinet. He expressed satisfaction that Mapam was ready to enter the Cabinet and expressed the hope that it would be small, because Israel is unable to sustain a large regime.