The main problem to me is that c
ompanies that do not make profits should not stay on the market and drain resources from people’s pocket to stay alive. Alitalia can’t stand on its feet now, nor it will ever be able to without significant structural changes.
Selling, or rather making a gift of Alitalia to AF/KL was simply the usual local way of solving the problem: leaving the hard decisions to others. The life of the airline in the AF/KL group would have been miserable anyway. There is no doubt that routes would have to be cut, airplanes grounded and people laid off in order to bring it back to profitability. Alitalia would have become a clone of Air Littoral in the initial phase with uncertain perspectives for the future. But allowing this to happen had as a main goal to blame the French for this and, in politicians’ own mind, not losing their face with voters – which are A LOT, considering the number of people working directly or indirectly around Alitalia.
Alitalia has been making losses for a decade or even more and there were either sufficient time or people who could handle the problem accordingly. They preferred to do nothing so far. Now only tough decisions are to be taken and 
I hope they will.