Which virtues, and why these, are most important for politicians? Despite extensive philosophical discussions on political virtues, empirical investigations into the virtues politicians themselves value remain scarce. In this article, I address this empirical gap by conducting 74 in-depth interviews with randomly selected Swedish parliamentarians. Analyzing these interviews through a structured multi-level coding practice, I make three main claims: (a) the cardinal virtue in the Swedish Parliament is the ability to separate ideas from those who hold them, which is crucial for upholding political trust among parliamentarians themselves and with the general public; (b) virtue pluralism is essential within the Swedish Parliament and party groups, as this accommodates the varied roles and responsibilities within party groups; (c) reflecting the diverse roles and responsibilities of parliamentarians, virtue can be categorized in five main themes: entrepreneurial, social, integrity, wisdom, and craftsman. These results underline the importance of considering the institutional character and the political context, particularly how roles, responsibilities, and relationships influence the necessity and perception of political virtues in practice. This study offers novel empirical insights into how national political leaders perceive and value virtues in their democratic roles, thereby contributing to the literature on political ethics, democracy, and practice.