If the Government has to step in to maintain it, then that is what will happen.
This would be illegal under EU law. The government will be unable to step in to bail out BA should it fail financially. This nonsense notion that BA has a fairy godmother in the government is both dangerous and naive. It flies against the evidence that is out there of what really happens when a national carrier fails within the EU.
That is not to say that there would not be some kind of national carrier emerge, possibly grafted onto an already existing company like VS or BMI, but it would not employ on BA T&Cs, nor would it employ the same numbers of people. Many people would lose their jobs, it would be disaster. There will be no miraculous BA2 with everybody still employed, all still on the same T&Cs that lead to a failed company. Those that got a job would be working the max allowed for the min possible pay.
This dangerous and frankly silly view has persisted within BA for many years, contrary to EU law, common sense and the example of Sabena. BA is not an asset of vital national interest, though many would like to believe that it is. There are many companies that will take up the slack and that will use the law to prevent the government from just stepping in to bail out BA should it fail.