1.1 million copies. In the period of 1995-96 the daily had a circulation of 1,075,000 copies. Kronen Zeitung was the sixth best selling European newspaper with a circulation of 1,084,000 copies in 1999. In 2000 Kronen Zeitung was the seventh best-selling newspapers in Europe with a circulation of 1,052,000 copies. In 2001 it was the fifth best selling European newspaper and the most read newspaper in Austria with a circulation of 1,035,000 copies. The paper had a circulation of 1,018,000 copies in 2002, making it the best selling newspaper in the country. In 2005 its circulation was 850,000 copies. Its 2007 circulation was 961,000 copies. Next year the circulation of Kronen Zeitung was 881,000 copies, making it the best-selling paper in Austria. It had a circulation of 929,000 copies in 2010 and 818,859 copies in 2011. The 2012 circulation of the paper was 800,000 copies, reaching 40% of the Austrian readers. Its circulation was 820,000 copies in 2013. Publishing house and marketing company Mediaprint In the 1990s the Krone, together with the second-strongest newspaper Kurier, founded the publishing house and marketing company Mediaprint, which took over the print, marketing, and sales of the two newspapers. Many observers at that point already spoke of a monopoly. In 2000, the most successful Austrian magazine group, the NEWS media company, which owns the magazines NEWS, Profil, E-Media, Format and Trend, merged with Mediaprint. Since then the majority of printed media in Austria in effect comes from the same company. Focused interference in Austrian politics Kronen Zeitung was the supporter of Kurt Waldheim in the presidential election in 1986. Many Austrian intellectuals hold the Kronen Zeitung responsible for the gains of the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) in the 1999 elections, claiming its journalism is selective to an unacceptable degree. However, until 2007 the effect of the Kronen Zeitung on Austrian politics, though regarded as extremely strong, had ultimately been indirect. In 2008 a new policy became apparent when the paper orchestrated a focused (and successful) campaign for the replacement of chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer as the head of the SPÖ by Werner Faymann, a decade-long close friend of Hans Dichand. On 27 June 2008 while the change of the guard at the top of the SPÖ was still ongoing, the paper published an open letter by Faymann (co-signed by Gusenbauer) to Dichand in which the politicians announced that the party would make Austrian acceptance of