"The interim president picked to rule Honduras after the army ousted leftist President Manuel Zelaya said on Monday the coup had saved the country from swinging to a radical Venezuelan-style socialism.
Roberto Micheletti -- named caretaker president by Congress hours after the military seized Zelaya and exiled him to Costa Rica -- said Zelaya had lost respect for the law. .............................
..................Micheletti is a veteran of Zelaya's Liberal Party who was head of Congress until he was picked by a near-unanimous vote to head the country until after a more permanent leader is elected in a November 29 election.
A centrist who mixes social programs with deep conservative beliefs, Micheletti is seen as having a stabilizing influence while in power but could also take a swing to the right and crush opponents.
He was formerly an ally of Zelaya but opposed his shift to the left and increasingly close friendship with Chavez. "............