I think it does, a lot. Picard was speaking with Cardassians almost exclusively. With them, and with Bajorans who had been subjugated by Cardassians and probably even told to use Cardassian phrases or else. (Say, "Don't say massacre, say police action, or we'll perform a police action on you. Oh, and remember to smile.")
In addition--if I remember the details of that episode correctly, it was the Cardassians who had called Picard in to find a terrorist (Orta). Meaning he was working at their behest, even among the Bajorans...
(The Cardassians did not have clean hands in that, by any means. But it isn't surprising that Picard would be showing deference to them and not the Bajorans, seeing as the Cardassians are the big empire that he figured the Federation needed to make nice to.)