 Last was "group A" of the General Zionists, which was made up of artisans, small farmers, and members of the liberal professions, and which unlike "group B" was left of center and oriented toward the Histadrut.The Progressives favored private investment and shifting control over essential services and welfare functions from the Histadrut to the state.Although they were not socialists, they were intellectually sympathetic to socialist aspirations and open to cooperating with Mapai in a coalition government.