Art, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

It is subjective. Some people might like it, others might not.

Last week, the world was scandalised when a banana stuck to wall by duct tape was sold for $6.2 million (€5.9 million) at an auction. It was described as a piece of conceptual art, and was even given a name "Comedian". For most of us, it was just a banana and some duct tape. Who knows how many mouths would have been fed with those $6.2 million.

Here in Malta, there's a similar controversy which has gripped the islands - the Christmas Tree that has been set up near the Parliament building at the entrance to Valletta.

The response to it has been mostly one of disdain. Judging by the comments that abound on the social media, the idea of having a balcony and windows as part of the set-up has not earned the accolades. Even a Christmas tree has been turned into a building, was one of the most common remarks that was made, in reference to a construction industry which has been harshly criticised over the past years, with buildings growing higher and wider and the few pockets of green running the risk of being turned into concrete.

The jokes kept on coming. Personalities were photo-shopped on the tree's balcony, including Pope Francis, while some asked whether this was the new Strangers' Gallery, given that the balcony faces the Parliament building. Others, more seriously, commented on how insulting it is that the tree was set up in front of a banner than hangs above Freedom Square to commemorate one of the victims of the construction industry, Jean Paul Sofia.

Most of all, the reaction was negative, as many people posted photos of other Christmas Trees that have been erected in major cities and towns around Europe to compare them with the one in Valletta.

All of this would have passed as the usual social media banter were it not for the intervention of Jason Micallef, chairman of the Valletta Cultural Agency. Contacted by Times of Malta, Micallef could not hold himself back from turning the matter into a political football.

The criticism is politically motivated, he said. It is a campaign to disturb Christmas, he continued. The decorations do not symbolise construction, he added.

We beg to differ.

There is no political motivation behind the criticism. Nobody wants to disturb Christmas. And it does appear that the tree is a monument to the construction industry.

But it is just Micallef's warped thinking and blinkered views that see this as being a political issue.

Or is Micallef entertaining the idea that nobody can voice an opinion about the Christmas Tree?

Not everything is politics, dear Jason. People have a right to express themselves and, if Micallef were to look closely, he would see that negative comments are also coming from the Labour camp. Are they politically motivated, too?

No, they're not.

It's just that the Christmas Tree at the entrance of our capital city is downright ugly.

There, we've said it too, dear Jason.

It's ugly.