Labor leaders Yitzhak Herzog came very close to an outright admission of defeat Wednesday morning.

Herzog gave a relatively short statement to reporters at 8:45 a.m.: “Good morning to the voters who have given their sentence and decided our fate as a movement and a nation.

“A few minutes ago, I spoke to the prime minister, I congratulated him and I wished him success,” he said. 

“It should be clear, however, that the challenges are still the same challenges, and the problems are the same problems. Tzipi Livni and I will continue to fight for a more just society, a diplomatic horizon, and democracy. We will cooperate with all of the political elements that can and want to cooperate with us. I intend to lead the Zionist Union, to give hope, and bring about the great amelioration that Israel requires.”

“This is not an easy morning for us and for those who believe in our path,” Herzog ad Livni said earlier in a written statement.

They added: “We will fight for the citizens of Israel, for a diplomatic horizon, equality and democracy, alongside our partners in the Knesset.”

Herzog said shortly after midnight Wednesday – when results predicted that Likud and Labor were neck-and-neck – that he is still in the race to form Israel’s next government.

“Everything is open,” he told activists in Tel Aviv, even after analysts said Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu would have a far easier task of putting together a 61-seat majority than Herzog.

“I intend to make every effort to build a real social government in Israel,” Herzog said.