The anti-asylum, pro-Kremlin FPÖ is leading the polls amid growing frustration over the political status quo

Fear, uncertainty and suspicion are running high in Klagenfurt, southern Austria, before Sunday’s high-stakes parliamentary election, in which the far-right Freedom party (FPÖ) could become the strongest force in the country for the first time in the postwar period.

For at least a week, and some local people say much longer, the tap water in this city of baroque facades and a stunning Alpine lake has been contaminated with faecal bacteria and unsafe to drink. No one – not the government or environmental officials – has managed to ascertain the cause although baseless theories involving poisoned wells, migrants and other scapegoats run wild in pubs and the darker corners of the internet. Nor is a solution in sight. “Plan C”, as the public works chief, Erwin Smole, has described flushing pipes with diluted chlorine, is still being considered after other measures failed.