Ljubljana - The new government will have its work cut out as prices and consequently inflation are rising, whereas public sector trade unions want quick action on the wage system, Večer newspaper says in Saturday's commentary headlined Hard Times.

One of the most important tasks facing the Robert Golob government is a thorough review of the budget, which will reveal Slovenia's financial shape.

"Only then will the government be able to start planning who can get some money and how much, if any."

It is however clear even from the economic situation - the constantly rising prices of goods and services and consequently inflation - that the situation is not rosy.

So without looking into a crystal ball, we can predict tough times ahead for the government and a large part of the population, perhaps the toughest since independence.

And in these difficult times, the government is faced with a variety of demands, including from public sector unions.

The trade unions' demands are clear and extensive, so negotiating on the single public sector pay system, introduced in 2008, will be the toughest task ahead for the new public administration minister as the government's chief negotiator.

The government coalition says it is determined not to allow any individual group to exit the pay system, but doctors are sure not to give up their desire to leave it.

The government's chief negotiator will thus have a demanding task, which will be further aggravated by the time pressure as unions wants solutions as soon as possible, but it takes time if one wants to reset the pay system and eliminate all the anomalies.