Germany appears to be very reluctant to let some of it's more high profile businesses go under; I'd cite Galeria Kaufhof in that regard, which must have been going on now for 3 or 4 years, and looks as though it's heading for trouble yet again.
If Air Berlin had been a British concern it would have gone a while ago now, as the UK government wouldn't be intervening behind the scenes to try and keep what has been a dysfunctional business going to vigourously.
I'm not saying which of the British or German models is correct, or more desirable, but you've got to agree with Michael O'Leary in so far as the German objective, especially in this election year, appears very much to be trying to push as much of AB as it can into the arms of Lufthansa, at the expense of other airlines, such as IAG or Ryanair.