Katsav was to meet senior members of Kadima, which came out on top in last week's general election with 29 seats in the 120-member parliament, followed by a delegation from the centre-left Labour which came second with 20.

Kadima will recommend that its leader, Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, be formally appointed prime minister and charged with forming a cabinet.

Labour -- which could conceivably stitch together a shaky coalition with right-wing parties and leave Kadima out in the cold -- will recommend that its leader Amir Peretz be given the task.

Other parties, which will meet Katsav on Monday or Tuesday, are reported to be yet undecided on who to back for the top job.

Buoyed by final results that gave him a slim backing for his pledge to fix Israel's final borders by 2010, Olmert has insisted he will be the next prime minister despite deteriorating relations with main coalition hope Labour.

Kadima has already begun informal talks with potential coalition partners but has insisted Labour, which campaigned on a vigorous social economic ticket, not be granted its chief demand of the finance ministry.