TORONTO -- Opposition leaders say the lame-duck Liberal government is an aimless mess heading for a crash landing -- far more concerned with self-preservation than with safe-guarding Ontario.

“This very much resembles a government that’s lost its way. It has no idea where it’s going and it’s paralyzed,” Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak said Monday.

“When governments get into that type of attitude, all the more reason they’re going to start throwing their cronies on all these agencies, boards and commissions. I do worry that this government is going to put Liberal interests first, including patronage appointments, instead of the important work of this province.”

Premier Dalton McGuinty’s decision to prorogue the legislature until his party holds a convention to pick his replacement in January has killed all the committees at Queen’s Park, including one that vetted government appointments.

That means opposition members no longer have a chance to grill prospective nominees for government posts and only the cabinet will have a say in who gets picked.

Government officials have said the system is the same one used when the House breaks for summer or during an election and added the premier has no intention of taking advantage of the situation.

“There’s all kinds of things that happen around here and when the legislature is not sitting, the scrutiny is less,” New Democratic Party Leader Andrea Horwath said. “That’s something that is of great concern.”

Horwath said she will put forward a motion whenever MPPs do return that will limit any future prorogations to just seven calendar days, unless the House agrees to extend it.