In which case, for Elop, running Nokia really was the trial run that everyone feared it was when he started. The end-game was for him to be in position to take over Microsoft when Balmer stepped down. I guess he passed Microsoft's test then...
Read up this guy's profile, do you really think he would approve hiring Elop just like that without such an eventuality in sight?
The real question will be what Elop's role back in Microsoft will be. If he ends up succeeding Balmer, everything that was predicted 3 years ago will end up coming true. I thought it was far-fetched that Nokia was really just the warm-up act to taking over Microsoft. But if that is really what happens, it was certainly foreseeable.