In a day by day analysis, the cabinet-formation leading to the fifth Tindemans cabinet in Belgium in traced, using information gathered from talks with the main participants, and also making use of their personal notes. This «diary» consists of three parts: the first part concerns the partner-choice: the coming into the cabinet of the so-called «regional parties» (Volksunie and PDF) and the socialists, and the disappearance of the liberals; the second part concerns the negotiations about thegovernment-program proper, which resulted in an agreement about statereform; the third part relates the distribution of ministerial portfolios.