I don't care but a lot of people equate their national airline withe Country
It is not always good for the country in question. Let's forget the old debts now (as Italians want). Since 2008 the Italian taxpayers had to pay millions of euros every year for keeping the "new" Alitalia alive, also for government's redundancy payment schemes, bank loans etc. Alitalia has not moved away from the spectre of bankruptcy even for a while.
By the way, the letter from Etihad's Hogan finally did arrive (yesterday evening). Well, with the new, much worse conditions. The conditions are in fact much worse than these given by KLM/ Air France back in 2008. Did this struggle for a "national airline" really pay?