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Cabinet reportAfter a full 2019 year with a caretaker government due to the most cumbersome federal government formation following the May 2019 general elections, Belgium started 2020 with Wilmès I, a minority government in a caretaker capacity (Rihoux et al. 2020) (Table 1). The formation process went on with, as informateurs, two party leaders freshly elected in 2019 (Rihoux et al. 2020), Georges-Louis Bouchez (Reformist Movement/Mouvement Réformateur -MR) and Joachim Coens (Christian-Democrat and Flemish/Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams -CD&V), who failed to find a viable solution, trapped in the dilemma of including or not the largest party in Parliament, the Flemish Nationalist New Flemish Alliance/Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie (N-VA). On 31 January, King Philippe surprisingly appointed the Minister of Justice in place, Koen Geens (CD&V), for a mission that would only last two weeks, after intense and open tensions between the largest Flemish and Francophone parties, N-VA and Socialist Party/Parti socialiste (PS), that Geens failed to reconcile.On 19 February, the presidents of both federal Chambers, Sabine Laruelle (MR) and Patrick Dewael, Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats/Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten (Open VLD) received the mandate from the King to 'take any initiative aimed at establishing a full-fledged federal government' . Laruelle was the first ever female royal mission-holder in Belgium. Their mission was abruptly terminated due to the COVID-19 crisis. To help face the pandemic, it was decided to set up a fully empowered government in place of the caretaker government. Sophie Wilmès was appointed formatrice on