Revisiting this thread after nearly five days, I did not realise what a can of worms I had opened when I mentioned UK job subsidies.
At the risk of trying the patience of the Mods even more [doffs cap] ... all countries are going to subsidise some jobs at some times. These will drift in and out of fashion. For example (here I go again
) farming subsidies are still very popular with some but they are losing favour. Airlines are also losing favour (in some countries) as they loose the glitter they took on from their respective merchant navies. The glitter is that of representing the country and that ghastly phrase, 'flying the flag'. The flag used to fly on the boat, then on the tail of the a/c but the greater movement of people means that the airline is not the exclusive and glittery thing it once was. Thus, subsidies are removed.
The problem is that subsidies tend to be removed in, almost, one go. This leaves people high and dry for work, often at a difficult age. If subsidies for coal in the UK had been reduced steadily and openly across ten years, say, then we might have avoided the social catastrophe. But we know that politicians cannot think that far ahead. They used to think five years ahead and now it's only one year. Likewise, commerce cannot wait to get profits in Year 10, it wants them NOW.
Slow and steady change is best for humans but humans usually resist change so long that, when it eventually happens, it is usually too fast. Just like (another example) tectonic plates that build up against each other for decades and then slide past in one great event.
The tectonic plates of Sabena and SwissAir have moved but Alitalia's are still building up pressure.