Upon his release, Hatata was among some of the ex-DMNL members who believed Egyptian communists could united with Nasser's Arab Socialist Union (ASU), the only official party in the country. They viewed it as a progressive and socialist movement.[12] Nasser grew critical of the ASU at the time, claiming it was falling short of mentoring "socialist democracy" in Egypt. In December 1964, the ASU leadership was reorganized with the establishment of a 16-member secretariat-general, of which six were original communists, including Hatata.[13]