Nature of Israel’s next government is far from certain

So Bouji did well, but then so did Bibi.

One exit poll in the Israeli elections has the incumbent prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu neck-and-neck with his Labour Party challenger Isaac Herzog, another has him one seat ahead.

Herzog’s success was built on a strong campaign which saw him come from a long way back in the polls to well in front. He focused on economic issues like the very high cost of living in Israel, pledging to do something about the price of housing.

Netanyahu was seen by many here to have ran a lacklustre campaign, which focused solely on his devotion to defending Israel’s security, against all threats, from a nuclear Iran, through to Isis and Palestinian militants.

But in the last 24 hours before the polls closed, Bibi upped the ante. He said that should he be re-elected, a Palestinian state would not be created.

And then he went on to his Facebook page to record a message about how all right-wing minded people in Israel should make sure they get down to the polling station and put their cross next to his name, because the Arab citizens of Israel were "coming out in droves’".

It was tough politics. Others would call it desperate. Some have called it racist. But it seems to have worked.

Netanyahu has pulled a lot of votes from those supporters of parties to the right of his by convincing them that he is their only defence against a left-wing government supported by representatives of Israel’s Arab citizens.

Many commentators now back Netanyahu to form the next government, on the basis that he did a lot of his coalition formation in those last moments of the campaign.

But in a dead heat, it still possible that Herzog could convince Israel’s president that he is capable of garnering enough support among the left wing members of the Knesset to take the premiership.

On both sides, there is dealing to be done, and so the exact nature of Israel’s next government is far from certain.